


Arrival [Warriors]

by Aon_Rarsdani



Series: The Cats of Rayulle [1]
Category: Warriors - Erin Hunter
Genre: Gen, magical murder cats, prince rusty
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-02
Updated: 2020-08-18
Packaged: 2021-02-28 03:08:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 11
Words: 35,050
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22576840
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aon_Rarsdani/pseuds/Aon_Rarsdani
Summary: Prince Rusty meets the wild cats from his late father's stories. When they offer him an opportunity of a lifetime, he decides he has little to lose and much to gain and takes the offer. But all too soon things start to look suspicious.
Relationships: Firepaw and Graypaw and Ravenpaw sibling bond
Series: The Cats of Rayulle [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1724902
Comments: 2
Kudos: 32





	1. Allegiances

**Author's Note:**

> Hi everyone! This is my first story here so yeah. Let me know about grammar and spelling mistakes and formatting. I'm learning (and editing) all of this stuff as I go along lol. As this is still very much an "In-Progress" story, expect random edits and such. Enjoy!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> List of affiliations before the story started

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can you believe I forgot I add the allegiances XD Wow

**Allegiances**

**ThunderClan**

**Leader:** Bluestar- mid-length blue-furred she-cat with silver tinged on her muzzle

 **Deputy:** Redtail- small murky red tom with a muddy red tail. (Apprentice, Dustpaw)

 **Medicine Cat(s):** Spottedleaf- beautiful dark tortoiseshell she-cat with a distinctive dappled coat.

 **Diplomat:** Larkwing- Brown mackerel tabby tom with yellow eyes (Apprentice, Ravenpaw)

 **Tactician:** Buzzardback- large scarred cream tom with a cut over his left eye

  
  


**Warriors**

**Hunters:**

[ Willowpelt ](https://warriors.fandom.com/wiki/Willowpelt)—very pale gray she-cat with unusual blue eyes

[ Whitestorm ](https://warriors.fandom.com/wiki/Whitestorm)—big white tom (Apprentice, Sandpaw)

Acornleap- Brownish tabby she-cat with light-colored paws

**Guardsmen:**

[ Lionheart ](https://warriors.fandom.com/wiki/Lionheart)—magnificent golden tabby tom with thick fur like a lion's mane (Apprentice, Graypaw)

[ Tigerclaw ](https://warriors.fandom.com/wiki/Tigerstar_\(TPB\))—big dark brown tabby tom with unusually long front claws

[ Darkstripe ](https://warriors.fandom.com/wiki/Darkstripe)—sleek black-and-gray tabby tom

[ Longtail ](https://warriors.fandom.com/wiki/Longtail)—pale tabby tom with dark black stripes

[ Runningwind ](https://warriors.fandom.com/wiki/Runningwind)—swift tabby tom.

**Peacemaker:**

[ Mousefur ](https://warriors.fandom.com/wiki/Mousefur)—small dusky brown she-cat

Volewhisker- pale brown tom with yellow eyes

**Planner:**

Aspenwhisker- gray molly with darker paws

Barkpelt- brown mackerel tabby tom

**Apprentices:**

Sandpaw- pale ginger mackerel tabby she-cat with leaf green eyes and white dots under her eyes

Dustpaw- dark brown (chocolate) tabby tom

Ravenpaw- small, skinny black tom with a tiny white dash on his chest and a white-tipped tail

Graypaw- long-haired gray tom with a darker gray stripe down his back

**Queens:**

Frostfur- beautiful white coat and blue eyes (mother to Lionheart’s kits: Brackenkit, Cinderkit, Brightkit, and Thornkit)

Brindleface- a pretty brindled she-cat with golden eyes

Goldenflower- pale ginger she-cat with a white underbelly

Speckletail- pale tabby and oldest nursery queen; A Sitter

**Elders:**

Half tail- big dark brown mackerel tabby tom with part of his tail missing

Smallear- gray tom with surprisingly small ears

Patchpelt- a black and white tom

One-Eye- pale gray she-cat who is virtually blind and deaf

Dappletail- pretty tortoiseshell she-cat with a lovely dappled coat

Rosetail- pretty van patterned she-cat

**WindClan**

**Leader** : Tallstar- a back and white tom with a long tail

 **Deputy** : Deadfoot- black tom with a single twisted hind leg

 **Medicine Cat(s):** Hareleap- a calico molly with yellow eyes

 **Diplomat:** Grasswhisker- long tan furred molly

 **Tactician:** Mudfang- brown-furred tom with orangish eyes

**RiverClan**

**Leader** : Crookedstar- large light-colored tom w/ a twisted jaw

 **Deputy** : Oakheart- reddish-brown tom with a lighter splotch on his chest

 **Medicine Cat(s):** Brambleberry- a white black splattered molly

 **Diplomat:** Reedtail- russet-colored short furred tom with a plumed tail

 **Tactician:** Carpfin- pale gray tom with yellow eyes

**ShadowClan**

**Leader** : Brokenstar- brown mangy looking tom with a bent tail

 **Deputy** : Blackfoot- large white tom with black front paws (has vertigo)

 **Medicine Cat(s):** Runningnose- cream tom with crust ever surrounding his nose

 **Diplomat:** Toadpelt- mottled brown molly with claw marks over her left eye

 **Tactician:** Pineswipe- reddish-brown tom with a locket

**Cats outside the Clans**

Rusty- handsome ruddy ginger ticked mackerel tabby tom with green eyes, an Heir of the Rising Sun

Coral- pretty silver ticked molly with unusual cornflower eyes, an Heir of the Rising Sun

Yellowfang- gray molly with a matted coat

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For the record, I have no idea why those links are there lol. I'm going to roll with it though.


	2. Allegiances

Rusty sat up. His fur had bristled in his sleep. Excitement ruffled his coat and filled him with energy. His paws sank into the soft plushy cushion of his bedding. He glanced up to his large circular window that allowed a thin strand of moonlight into the den and washed over his coat. The tom gathered his paws beneath him and wandered down to drop to the floor. Rusty strolled across the hard floors shined by a human worker to a small table with a brass bowl. He sniffed at the steamed chicken in the dish before deciding it was to his liking. He wolfed it down catching his own appearance in the mirror.

With a grimace, he groomed his ruffled ruddy coat. His mother would have a hairball if he wandered around like a stray kit. He scratched at his ear and headed over to the windowsill. His father enjoyed staring out into the woods and when Rusty took on his old room as a kit, he let him keep the window seat.

He watched the dancing leaves of the forest below him. The branches swayed in the wind and shadows called out. Rusty was always intrigued by what was beyond the borders of the kingdom. He got to his paws and left his room. Walking through familiar halls, a sense of ease sprinkled over him. He started towards the stairs when he heard a jangling sound.

“Artakūp Rusty.”

The ginger tom purred a warm greeting to the silver molly. He licked the top of her head careful to avoid the intricate circuit on her crown. Rusty was unsurprised, sometimes it felt his youngest sister had a hidden sensor within for when he was sneaking away.

“Artakūp Coral,” he said. “What are you doing awake?”

“I could ask the same of you,” she said. “Why are you awake?”

“I had a good dream,” Rusty said.

“Going for a walk then?” 

“Yes. Do you want to come?”

“Please?”

Coral purred. She fell into step alongside him. Slipping grace into their walk, they headed down to the main room with polished floors and high ceilings. The two toms who sat by the doorway perked up upon seeing them. The brown, bulky one to the right took a step forward.

“Your Highnesses,” he said. “Arta-akūp.”

“Artakūp Sage,” Rusty said and Coral echoed him.

“Where are you off to tonight?” the grey cat asked. “It’s rather late.”

“Just a trip through the kingdom,” Coral said. “We won’t be too long.”

Rusty pushed forward slipped from the room before they could suggest sending the guards with them. As soon as he set a paw on the open lawn, he straightened up. He held his head high and moved with confident steps. Beside him, Coral had raised her tail high and set her shoulders back. Rusty took the lead, and they left the large gate from the pristine lawn and into the public.

They didn’t make over three or four pawsteps from the gate when a lisped voice called to them.

“Your Highness, where you off to?”

A black and white tom stared down at them from a fence of his own. He leaped down to crouch before them.

“Artakūp Smudge,” Coral said with a fond warmth in her voice. “Stand up, we’re friends remember?”

“You’re still the Princess,” Smudge reminded.

“We’re not the crowns,” Rusty said. “We aren’t that important.”

Smudge gave them both a stern look falling into step beside them. Rusty once more took the lead weaving them through the dirt roads and set up houses. He rubbed against one of the human workers tending the lawns. The two-legged creature bent down to stroke his back and dragged its nails up his spine and scratched behind his ear avoiding his earrings.

Parting from the house-carers Rusty made for the main gates of the Kingdom. His mother had told him that most of the gate was for aesthetic reasons. The gate was as tall as the waist of the average up walking caretakers. He’s never gotten it out of his mother why they needed to be so high but he assumed for the same reason of decorative beauty. The gates thin and painted a shimmering gold attached to a long white fence.

It made the exit appear ethereal and romantic only the slightest bit thrown off by the two large dogs guarding the entrance. With their spiked collars and black vests, they looked intimidating throwing off the fantastical aura the gate gave off.

The closer they got to the gate the more concerned Smudge seemed to grow. Coral for her part looked calm. Rusty figured she was just as concerned but unlike Smudge, his sister couldn’t afford to seem worried in public.

“Wait are you going into the wood?” Smudge asked.

“I just want to look around, I won’t be long,” he said.

“It’s dangerous in there,” Smudge said. “Henry told me he went in there.”

“That fat old tabby hasn’t even left his garden since getting carers,” Rusty said with disdain. “The most I’ve ever seen him do is eat, sleep and whine.”

“Rusty!” Coral snapped making him wince. “Mother would hunt you for sport if she heard you say that!”

“Sorry Smudge,” Rusty said ducking his head. “I was out of line.”

“It’s alright Highness,” Smudge nodded.

“He’s not all wrong though,” Coral said. “Henry doesn’t… do anything.”

“Well, anyway-” Smudge flicked his tail and glanced over. “He said he caught a robin once. Mostly he said the old wild cats are still there. They’re huge and mean, they go out and try to maul us.”

“Dad used to talk about them,” Coral agreed. “He said there were some who lived in the Long Fields.”

“And Ashura’s Forest,” Rusty said. “But dad said we can reason with them so long as you’re not aiming to maul anyone.”

Smudged sighed, “Well you seem convinced. Oh well, it’s your pelt, not mine.” He punctuated his last comment with a wink and sauntered back into town his trajectory aiming for home. Smudge gone, Rusty turned to his sister.

“I don’t want you wandering the woods alone,” she informed him. “We have to have each other’s back right?”

“Right,” he agreed.

The two cats approached the gates with purpose and confidence. Rusty purred a greeting to the two guards on duty.

“Hello, Prince Rusty,” one of the guards greeted.

“Hello, Nick,” Rusty said.

“Going out?” the guard asked pushing the gates open.

“Yes, just for a short while,” he said leading Coral out.

“Be safe!”

“We will,” Coral responded.

After leaving the gates, Coral took up the lead. Aiming to one day become a Guardian, Coral had left the main town more often than Rusty had. She knew the routes better than he did, but she also knew Rusty didn’t want to go to the training fields. He wanted to see the real woods. So she led him down the main road until they were out of sight of the guards and then veered from the path.

Rusty bolted ahead a few tail lengths purring to himself. The cool, soft earth beneath his paws felt amazing. He rubbed himself against a tree and then pulled away to spring on some leaves. Rusty dropped to the ground rolling about in the dirt. He glanced up at Coral after hearing a snicker, then he grinned.

His sister yelped after she was tackled. She retaliated by swiping at his face with sheathed paws. He gave her a playful nip and she jumped off of him laughing. He tried to pounce on her again. Coral launched herself into a tree scampering to the lowest branch purring with amusement when Rusty smacked face-first into it.

“Not fair,” Rusty said shaking his head to clear it.

“All I did was jump,” Coral purred. “You’re the one who nosed all over it.”

Rusty rolled his eyes and stalked off. The rustling of the branches alerted him to his sister leaving her perch to trot after him. She joined him striding alongside him. They walked together just enjoying their time together. Coral whipped her paw out to stop him.

“What?” he asked in a whisper.

She smirked and gestured in front of them. Rusty followed her motion to a mouse nibbling on fallen seeds. He grinned and fell into his best hunter’s crouch. He tried to remember everything their dad tried to teach them. He slid his paws across the leaves to minimize the sound as best as he could. He slunk forward holding his breath. His heart just about stopped when he stepped on a twig. The crack seemed to echo through the woods.

The mouse sat and nose twitched while looking around. 

Rusty bunched his hind-legs and sprung. He almost missed, but he grabbed its tail. He whipped around to show his sister purring with utter pride for his catch. He turned too fast, and the mouse slipped from my mouth. It hit the ground stunned for half a second before taking off. Rusty swiped after it when it disappeared, he flopped to the ground in despair.

“No!” he cried.

Coral walked over, giggling at him.

“You’ll get it next time,” she purred.

Rusty sighed but smiled when she nudged his cheek. The ginger tom gathered his paws under himself and turned away. He gave one last strain for the mouse, but all he heard was the muffled rustling of wind through the trees. A faint crunch that might’ve been the mouse being caught by something else.

Rusty managed to catch the faintest trace of an odd scent. A flash of bright red was distant in his sight. He stepped closer and started towards the creature. The cracking of twigs behind him assured him of his sister’s back up. He’d gotten a couple of steps closer when it occurred to him.

_ Coral doesn’t make noise when she walks. _

“Rusty run!”

He sprung to the side hissing as he was slashed across the cheek. He took his sister’s advice and sprinted making to getaway. He darted past Coral as she charged at his attacker. Rusty didn’t hesitate to spin around and run back. He would never leave his littermate to face an unknown enemy by herself. Besides, what if it had back up? Better to stay with a known ally then get trapped with who knows how many enemies.

He analyzed the situation and couldn’t help but admit that Coral was doing alright on her own. She was raking her claws down the side of their attacker, a fluffy gray kit. Rusty went on the offense snapping up the tom’s tail with his teeth. The kit snarled with rage and scored a set of claw marks over his cheek. Rusty shook his head and was bowled over. Coral smacked the tom from his back and sank her teeth into his leg. The gray tom howled in pain and sent a paw towards her throat. The silver molly rolled back and Rusty flew over her tackling him. He rolled to his back when the kit pounced on him making the enemy land on his hind-legs. He kicked out sending the cat soaring several tail lengths and smacking into a tree.

Coral stalked up next to him her tail bushed out in defense. Rusty could see the excitement in her eyes as she waited. Coral was still just a squire after all. With essentially no training, Coral wouldn't be allowed within two tail lengths of a fight. The adrenaline was one of the reasons she’d wanted to become a Guardian. She liked the idea of helping people but the concept of running free and unchained fighting for the defense of something bigger than her was what she sought.

Rusty understood, he himself was full of energy waiting for the gray lump to move. The blood rushing through his veins made him more awake. It was like his ears picked up everything. From the smallest mouse snuffling through the tall grass to the largest birds flapping their wings in a broad display. 

The enemy sat up and they tensed. Rusty crouched waiting to spring. But the tom scratched behind his ear and twisted about. Rusty and Coral exchanged confused looks when started licking his wounds. The gray cat straightened up and shook out his coat. Tail raised, he trotted forward paws filled with confidence.

“Hey there kittypets,” he greeted. “Nice moves. You guys put up a good fight.”

Coral blinked as Rusty growled, “And we’ll fight again if we have to.”

“Name’s Graypaw,” the stranger continued. He tried to look unbothered, but Rusty caught the tip of his tail twitching with discomfort. The prince flicked his ear with intrigue slightly impressed by the other cat's attempt at a bluff. He tuned back in when the fluffy tom kept speaking. “I’m training to be a ThunderClan warrior.”

“ThunderClan?” Coral said.

“Like the wild cats!” Rusty said purring.

“You’ve heard of us then,” Graypaw said chest puffed with pride.

“Yeah, little bits and pieces,” Coral said. “Stories from our dad. A place with endless land.”

“You mean Windclan,” Graypaw said.

“How many clans are there?” Rusty asked.

“Four. ThunderClan- the best clan, WindClan, RiverClan, and ShadowClan,” Graypaw said. “We all live around here.”

“So many of you,” Rusty said. 

Coral settled into a lax position starting to groom her coat and tend to her cuts. Graypaw flicked his ear and sat down with Rusty following the now peaceful cues.

“So why’d you attack us?” Coral asked tilting her head.

Graypaw’s tail bristled the slightest bit and he stiffened before explaining, “This is ThunderClan territory. You may have twolegs who wait on you tail and paw, but  _ we  _ have to hunt to survive. I was trying to chase you out.”

Coral’s eyes narrowed at the tone he used but didn’t argue. Unlike Rusty, she was third in line. Their mother forced her to take diplomacy lessons every once in awhile. Rusty knew she had a better grip on the situation and followed her lead.

“...we’re sorry,” he apologized after a second. “We didn’t know this land was occupied.”

“How? We’ve been here a while,” Graypaw said.

Coral frowned.

“You pushed our people out,” she said. “We lived here first but in our history, you came and chased our people away. So we traveled and then returned. This lot was empty and that’s when we founded the kingdom.”

Graypaw’s forehead furrowed and he opened his mouth to respond before freezing. He got to his paws sniffing the air. Seeing him, Coral did the same and Rusty got to his paws waiting. He only had basic self-defense training so he’d wait for a cue of what was wrong.

“I smell cats from ThunderClan,” Graypaw said. He looked at them. “You need to go. They won’t be happy you’re here.”

Coral nodded and started to run only to scramble to a halt when a silver-blue molly stepped from the bushes.

“What’s going on here?” She demanded.

“Bluestar!” Graypaw yelped and dropped into a crouch.

Rusty frowned and Coral lowered her tail. He twitched his ears when Graypaw stared at him with alarm. Bluestar’s eyes narrowed when they didn’t bow and raised her head. Coral did the same connecting eyes. The strange cat bristled and a second cat, a large golden tom with a long coat, looked to cat beside them.

“You shouldn’t be this close to twolegplace,” he said.

“I know,” Graypaw said. “I’m sorry.”

Coral flicked her ear, drawing her hind legs closer to sit. Bluestar’s attention redirected back to them.

“Who’s this?” She demanded without taking her eyes from them.

“A pair of kittypets,” Graypaw reported. “They aren’t a threat.”

Coral dipped her head in greeting. Rusty did the same sitting down.

“A pleasure,” Coral said.

The silverish leader said nothing. She scrutinized them closely, eyeing everything. Rusty noted her eyes lingering on their earrings and circuits. She eyed their collars and glanced up again. The molly seemed to decide because she sat and nodded back.

“Sit up Graypaw,” she addressed and the tom snapped upright.

“You fight well for kittypets,” the molly remarked.

“Thank you,” Coral said.

Graypaw edged closer to them only to freeze when the golden tom shot him a stern look. Rusty glanced up at the tom and shot him an inquisitive expression. The large cat seemed to have missed the silent signals of a peaceful encounter.

“Is there a problem?” Rusty asked with a mask of politeness.

“Why are you so far from twolegplace?” The golden cat demanded.

Coral looked a little annoyed but answered, “Call it curiosity. And it’s not twolegplace.”

“Twolegs live there,” Bluestar pointed out, although her voice lacked aggression. She was stating a fact.

“They do,” Rusty agreed. “Mice live in the forest. Should this be called miceplace?”

Bluestar frowned and Coral spoke again.

“That is the Kingdom of the Rising Sun. The twolegs are caretakers that serve our kingdom,” she said.

“...and who might you be?” Bluestar asked.

“I’m Rusty,” the russet tom answered. “This is Coral.”

“Arta-akūp,” Coral said with a respectful nod.

Bluestar and the golden tom exchanged a glance. 

“I am Bluestar as you know,” the tall molly said. “And this is Lionheart.”

The bulky tom huffed aloud but made no further action instead speaking up.

“Bluestar,” Lionheart said. “I say we send these kittypets home. They have no business being out here.”

“Send us home?” Rusty said. “Why? We haven’t done anything. We didn’t even catch anything.”

“Graypaw explained why we shouldn’t so we won’t,” Coral said. “Why not let us walk around?”

“Your very presence threatens our survival,” Bluestar said her voice dropping into a warning growl.

“In what way?” Coral said. Her own voice took on a defensive tone, diplomatic enough but letting the wild cats know they would fight if pressed.

“Your scent is foreign, and your skills at stealth are sure to be clumsy,” the molly informed.

“Bluestar leads my clan,” Graypaw said quietly. “She has to think about all of our welfare.

Rusty winced. He was undertrained for this and in acknowledgment of that, stepped back to let Coral stand in front. Her tail swished betraying her nerves. This would be her first real-life diplomacy encounter.

‘And I get to see it,’ Rusty purred to himself.

“My stealth is nothing to scoff at,” Coral said. “But I understand your worries. We won’t wander here anymore.”

Bluestar gave her an intrigued look.

“You are unlike the kittypets I’ve met before,” Bluestar said.

Coral shrugged but Rusty took this as an opportunity to ask about them.

“What’s your clan like?”

The three forest cats gave him a surprised look before Bluestar spoke.

“What do you mean?”

“Is it big?” Rusty said.

“Big enough,” Bluestar said. “We can support ourselves with our territory.”

“So are all of you warriors?” Coral said.

Lionheart shook his head. “Some of us are too old, too young or too busy kit caring to be warriors.”

"What does a warrior do?" Coral asked. “Graypaw seemed proud of them.”

“Warriors are the body of the clan,” Bluestar said. “They gather prey, protect our borders, and make up a good portion of adults in our clan.”

“Like a Guardian but not,” Rusty said with a glance to his sister. “Guardians aren’t the body but they do defend the kingdom from unusual or large threats.”

“If I may ask a question of my own,” Bluestar said. “What was that greeting you said?”

“Arta-akūp?” Rusty asked. “It’s a respectful good evening.”

“Ah,” Bluestar said, intrigue danced in her voice. “You speak a tongue beyond the common?”

“Rayllue is the language of the kingdom,” Rusty said. “Do you speak another tongue?”

The older molly shook her head, “That could cause confusion and great pain. We stick to common and let our actions show our differences.”

“Ūshuru would be amazed at that,” Coral said . “Imagine, people without their own tongue.”

Rusty flicked his tail reminding her, “The Kingdoms are actually weird for Rayllue remember? Most everywhere else uses common tongue now.”

"Ūshuru?" Bluestar said.

"Our god of life," Coral said. "He preaches respect of other beliefs and pursuit of knowledge and understanding."

"He'd find the clans interesting," Rusty said.

"Is that so?" Bluestar said. When both younger cats nodded, the leader continued on. "In that case, maybe you can fulfill his desires. Would you like to be a member of Thunderclan?"

They froze in shock. Rusty took a step back while Coral's whiskers twitched.

"But kittypets can't be warriors!" Graypaw burst. "They don't have warrior blood!"

"Warrior blood," Bluestar said, an undertone of sorrow tinging her voice.

"Is warrior blood important?" asked Rusty.

Lionheart flicked his tail.

"Warrior blood is the reason we live as we are. We can't explain it to someone without it, the drive to hunt for ourselves and live amongst the trees under the stars… it's simply something that can't be taught."

Coral's ear twitched as Bluestar raised her head.

"Living amongst us won't be easy," the leader began. "Leafbare nights are cold and sometimes you will go hungry. The clan will demand a lot from you. But in exchange for the demand, you will receive endless loyalty. You'll be reborn to your roots and remember what it is to be a  _ real cat.  _ You'll always have the clan by your side and never will you truly be alone."

Rusty and Coral stared in silence absorbing the offer and the warning. Lionheart took the gap in conversation as an opportunity to speak as well.

"Bluestar does not make this offer lightly. There is a lot that comes with this offer young ones. What is your answer?"

"...it's too soon to make a decision," Coral spoke up. She bristled when all eyes fell on her, tail flicking with anxiety but bravely continued on. "This- this will change everything. We're moving from home to a new place. With new expectations. We need time to think."

"Wise choice," Bluestar said. "When you like to make your choice? Don't wait too long."

"Four sunrises," Rusty suggested. "On the fourth at sunset, we can meet here again."

"Very well," the silvery leader conceded. "Four sunrises."

The tall queen rose to her paws and turned away radiating authority. Lionheart went with her strong paws thudding into the grass. Graypaw stopped long enough to send them both a friendly smile and fell in step behind the other two. Within seconds, the shadows appeared to have swallowed them up.

Rusty and Coral remained sitting for a while longer yet thinking over the encounter. He looked up at Coral who was staring back at him. After a pause, they both rose and started a march back to the main path. They stayed silent the entire way, minds dwelling on the choice they'd make in four sunrises.


	3. Choices

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rusty and Coral have a choice to make- and royal duties are a pain

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have one last chapter written after this one. I'm making an effort to get it done- expect one update a month as my most regular XD. Maybe if I get some decent free time, it'll be more than that

The sunlight drizzled through his open window. Rusty shivered from the warm air stroking through his fur. He cracked his eyes wincing from the sharp light stabbing him. He grumbled and nestled further into his bedding. His muscles were cramped from the adventure the previous night. He contemplated rolling over and going back to sleep. The temptation the dark, warmth of his bedding called to him but reality hit him. His mother would trample all over him if he went to sleep.

He dragged himself up and dropped into a stretch. He popped his joints and slunk down from his bed to his stool. Rusty’s paws were heavy with sleep and he shakes his head. There was rapping at his door and he straightened up. His yawned again popping his jaw. 

“Rusty!”

The tom blinked and then his brain rebooted.

“I’m awake,” he answered.

The hinged door was pushed open and the silver chocolate molly walked in. Rusty brightened and bounded over to her. The molly licked his ears and purred.

“Tired?” she smirked.

Rusty tried to avoid her eyes but his mother always had a way of knowing what he’d done.

“Don’t bother with a story,” said his mother. “Coral is still asleep so  _ know  _ you two were up to something.”

Rusty shrank back in fear. He stared up with guilt in his eyes. He averted his eyes and tucked his tail with sadness.

“Fix your coat and then attend to your duties,” she commanded. The molly turned away stalked from the room tail lashing. 

‘I didn’t mean to get Coral in trouble,’ Rusty thought with regret. He sighed and started licking his messy down into some form of order. The more he thought about it, the worse he felt. Coral managed to get herself told off every other moon. Whether it be her less than royal way of speaking or she acted out. Nothing Coral did ever seemed to be enough for their mother. She'd been on thin ice before their little run the night before.

Rusty shook out his fur and slipped from his room. He moved past two doors and clawed lightly at the third.

"I'm coming mother, no need to groom an already shed coat."

His sister's voice was exasperated and tired. She pushed her head out eyes stumbling from her paws, still heavy with exhaustion. Her coat was sticking up in some places so Rusty moved forward and started fixing it for her. Coral jerked at first, startled. ,

“ _ Atu,  _ Rusty,” she apologized. “I’m sleepy and I thought you were  _ ulsō. _ ”

“I guessed,” he said.

He turned to motion for her to follow him. She did as he asked and strode after him swiftly.

‘She must’ve been chewed out,’ Rusty mused with guilt noting her muted aura. Her paws dragged across the ground making her stumble. At least their mother had told her off in private instead of in front of their siblings. Even though their siblings didn’t tease, it was still humiliating to be scolded with an audience. He glanced up and made to apologize only to receive a stern look.

“Stop it,” she said sternly. “It’s not your fault.”

“...if you say so,” he said.

\---

Rusty just barely kept a civil smile. He breathed a silent sigh and started to explain again.

"I understand your concerns, but sir we cannot justify spending so many resources for one area," he tried.

"But I need protection!" The mottled tom said bristling.

He'd been at it for a while now. The tom, Maroon, had approached him with a request. The request to have a portion of the army watch his farm. Rusty had been trying to stay calm while explaining that it just wasn't rational to send 40 percent of the army to watch the tom's chickens to no avail. He was hot, his coat was only mid-length but Ūshurū’s glared down at him his paws were sore.

"Sir," Rusty interrupted raising a paw. "Again, I understand your concern that your chickens will be stolen however I feel that this is more suited for the  _ local  _ defense teams and not the overall Kingdom defense."

"Well I need the best of the best," Marron said forcefully.

Most of his subjects were wonderful, kind and understanding cats. But toms like Marron made him want to pull his whiskers out with frustration.

"...I'll speak with the guard captain," Rusty said wearily. "I promise nothing but I'll tell him of your request."

Marron nodded pleased that he'd won this argument. He turned to leave calling a happy, "Thank you, my Prince!" He almost bumped into Coral who strode over with her leather satchel strung across her back rustling with contracts.

"Rough time?" She asked casting a glance back at Marron.

"Think you can ask Captain Blaze if he'll loan a section of his cats to guard chickens?"

"...to  _ what? _ "

"That's the conversation I've been having since the sun was at its brightest."

"I am so sorry."

Rusty shook his coat out and gave a long stretch yawning.

"It's fine," he said. "You had it worse, didn't you? You were humoring this Prince from the Setting Sun right?"

She groaned sinking her claws into the dirt grumbling, "Don't remind me."

"That bad?" Rusty asked with sympathy.

"Remember Snow?" She asked.

"Yes?" Rusty said thinking back to the arrogant white tom with blue eyes. He’d stuck to her side like a burr refusing to let her wander off. He’d even tried to insist that he take up residence in her room.

"That but clingier."

"Yikes." He winced.

"He was awful," Coral grumbled. "Kept nudging my head, licking my ears, twining our tails…"

"That's… really forward," Rusty frowned. "And mother is okay with this?"

"She doesn't know yet," Coral said sighing. She sat and drew her left paw down her face looking up at him. "Mother isn't the most…  _ understanding  _ with me. I want to find a reason to be rid of him that doesn't include my feelings."

Rusty scooted closer to his littermate and rested his chin on her head. She sighed and closed her eyes just absorbing his presence.

"...mother would care if you're uncomfortable with him," he tried.

She moved her head from his shoulder and met his eyes asking, "Do you really believe that?"

Rusty felt a pang of longing for his father. Coral leaned back into him as Rusty wrestled with the answer he himself knew.

No. He didn't believe that for one second.

'The clans would appreciate her,' he thought mournfully. He didn't know if that was true but it seemed like it would be. When every warrior was mandatory for keeping the clan alive, every cat who could provide would be appreciated. Even hyperactive warriors with big hearts.

'If I take her from here,' Rusty mused. 'Would she  _ finally  _ have a cheering team besides me?'

He thinks so.

\---

He stopped in front of a tall door and rapped on it.

“It’s us,” he said.

“Come in,” said their mother.

Rusty pushed through the flap coming face to face with pale green eyes. His sister stepped back and nodded to him.

“Ras-akūp,” said Lūna.

“Ras-akūp,” said Rusty and Coral.

Their siblings were all lined up, oldest to youngest as they always did. Trotting by Angel and Reed, Rusty took his spot that put him sext to Lūna. Coral trotted to the end of the line glancing at the vacant spot Charr used to fill. Rusty hoped his brother was enjoying himself wherever he had ventured off to.

“Now, you’re three are probably wondering why you’re here.”

Rusty looked up pretending to have been paying attention. His mother stared him down as if she knew his mind had been wandering off. Her gaze was stern but Rusty was more interested in the cream coated molly beside her.

With a collar he knew to be magnetic and pad shaped pendant hanging from it, he knew the cat as a Guardian. He'd actually seen this particular Guardian around the castle more. She'd watched him play with his siblings and no matter how much he asked, their mother never told them why she was there.

Curiosity prickled his pelt when the Guardian began to speak.

“Coral,” the cream molly began. “I’ve been looking for Green-paw for a while now and I’ve decided I would be happy to show you the ways of a Guardian- if you’d like.”

“I-” Coral vibrated with excitement a purr leaping from her chest. “Yes, yes I’d be honored, Ivory.”

The molly nodded with approval looking pleased.

“Good,” said Ivory. “I’ll let you get acquainted with your new status. I’ll come to collect you on the full moon- that’s four sunsets from now.”

“Yes Ivory,” Coral said.

“Excuse me?” Ivory said in a teasing tone.

“ _ Commander _ ,” Coral corrected herself sounding thrilled.

“That’s better,” Ivory chuckled. The molly flicked her tail turning her head to look at their mother. “I must get back to the Guardian quarters Your Highness.”

The queen laughed and rested her tail on Ivory’s back nudging her.

“Ivory please, we were friends as kits. Call me Nutmeg- I didn’t become a different cat when I mated to Jake.”

“Are you sure?” Ivory said. “I distinctly remember being locked in the dirt-room for sassing you.”

“I’m your friend- what’s a friendship without teaching problem-solving skills?” Nutmeg said. She dismissed Rusty and his siblings with a wave of her tail. The kits nodded and slipped from the room with ease. As soon as they were out of earshot, they began launching into praises and questions.

“Congrats Coral!” Rusty said.

“Thanks,” said Coral.

“I didn’t know you were Squiring,” said Lūna.

Rusty swallowed back an irate comment when Coral deflated a little. Of course, Angel hadn’t noticed, she was always in lessons with their mother. As the oldest and crown heir, she had loads of responsibility. But Lūna was second in line. Even with her lessons, there wasn’t any reason for not to notice their little sister running herself ragged.

‘But then,’ Rusty thought. ‘Lūna has  _ always  _ overlooked everyone but Angel.’

“She’s very good at it,” he informed her. “It’s like she could read Ivory’s mind.”

“Really?” said Lūna with slight interest.

“Really,” Reed agreed. When he was given looks of surprise he reminded them, “I was Squiring for Coatl. She’s gotten her Commander first.”

“Coatl?” Coral interrupted. “Why him? He’s a stuck up prick.”

“He’s cool,” said Reed in defense. “And he’s strong too.”

“Yeah, in exchange for dropping his brain,” scoffed Lūna and for once, Rusty was in agreement.

“He’s going to get his name revoked,” Rusty said.

“You guys think too much,” Reed said.

“He doesn’t think  _ enough _ ,” said Lūna. “Mother would have rabbits if she knew you were aiming for that complete bush-brain.”

“You guys are mean,” Reed decided to their amusement. “You’re with me right Angel?”

The brown molly blinked at the question and brushed her paw across the floor. She watched it in silence, hoping if she stared long enough they’d move on. When it was clear they wouldn’t she sighed and answered.

“He’s not awful,” the princess said. “But… not very uh, bright.”

Angel smiled with apology as Reed’s face fell. Coral fell into a fit of laughter while Lūna smirked. The orange tom tried to hold an upset face but his whiskers were twitching, blue eyes shining with restrained laughter. Rusty grinned shoving his brother making him lose the battle against his laughter.

Listening to the joy filling the air, Rusty was reminded of the offer from before. If he joined the clans, this would be what he left behind. His brothers and sisters, his mother, seeing Coral progress into the Guardian she’d be. His heart clenched.

‘Can I give this up?’ Rusty asked himself.

\---

Three sunrises came and went.

Rusty was still no closer to answering the question than the first night. He knew Coral had made up her mind. He was sure of it. Coral had wanted to be a Guardian for so long, she’d be turning down the offer.

But Rusty?

He didn’t have any ambitions.

With Angel being the crown heir and Lūna as the eldest daughter after her, he wouldn’t be in charge of the Kingdom. If needed, Coral would be dragged from Guardian training to fill in for their sisters. Even if all else failed and all three of the mollies were unable to rule, then Reed was the oldest before him. 

He didn’t want to be a Guardian. It was a noble path and he was proud two of his siblings aspired to join such rankings. But in the end, the Guardians were a secretive bunch. They were strong and powerful- only the best ever became Guardians. An elite force ready to defend the Kingdom from any and all threats. But… as amazing as it sounds, the life of a Guardian was an almost constant battle. Even during peace times. That… didn’t sound like him.

His paws ground to a stop and he looked up at the night sky. Tomorrow would be his fourth and last day. The day he had to answer the question. He’d taken a walk again and his paws had brought him to the forest. His mind shoved forth the memory of nodding to the guards who let him through without speaking. With a stab of gratefulness that his mother hadn’t told the guards to stop his leaving, Rusty stared up at the tall trees that made up Ūshurū’s Woods. The secrets and cool air rushed from the treats brushing and tugging his pelt. Urged him to look closer. He lifted a paw hesitant and uncertain. 

What if the cats were watching him now? What if going in meant he had his answer?

His outstretched paw hovered in the air.

There was a crunching noise and Rusty glanced up. Despite hearing the pawsteps, he half expected Coral to be standing at the top of the path. He was surprised to see Lūna approaching him. Her paws moved with a certainty that he envied, the white mark on her chest glowed in the moonlight as she sat next to him bathing in Ashura’s gaze. Lūna said nothing at first, just sitting with him.

“You’re farther than the Cloud Kingdoms,” Lūna said. Her voice broke the silence and the whispering of the woods became muffled as if she was forcing it to let her speak.

“I guess,” said Rusty.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.”

“Okay.”

Lūna turned her attention to the woods. Rusty stared a little surprised that he’d gotten away with it. He focused back on the trees and the shadows. The tugging was still weak and the call was muted, Rusty tried to submerge himself but it stayed a background noise. The sound of the Kingdom alive and well, nothing of importance. Just cats living their lives enjoying eventless tame life of a village cat.

“...it’s hard.”

The tom’s head snapped up and he looked at his sister. Lūna was still staring off into the woods. She continued speaking while watching the branches dance in the trees, the wind tugging her coat.

“When you’re second in line. Not important enough to lead but too important to be free to roam or explore. You can’t experiment or get to know yourself.”

“At least mother gives you more than a look of disapproval,” slipped bitterly from his mouth. He couldn’t find it in himself to regret it as Lūna glanced at him and sighed.

“That’s true,” she agreed. “But I have to work twice as hard fulfilling non-crown duties and learning crown duties. Debates, negotiations, contracts, diplomacy, entertaining nobles, peace meetings, basic battle defense…”

Rusty glanced up and this time,  _ looked  _ at his older sister. Her glossy coat with several patches discreetly out of place, eyes dull with exhaustion. He noticed the way she suppressed a yawn and shook her head as if to knock the tiredness off. 

‘This,’ Rusty realized. ‘Must’ve been kept quiet for a long time.’

“...why did you follow me out here?” he asked her.

“Coral told me,” Lūna said looking at him. Rusty made a note to bite his sister. “She wanted to help, said you looked lost but she didn’t know how to. I told her I would.”

“And what do you suggest then?” Rusty said in a tired tone.

“You should go.”

He looked at her in shock.

“I mean it," said Lūna. “You remember dad’s stories right? About the cats that lived on the Long Plains?”

“Yes,” he agreed.

How could he not? He’d always loved the story of brave wildcat Talltail on a long journey to avenge his father’s death only to find that his death needed no avenging. He and Coral had begged their father to tell it over and over again. Their youngest brother, Charr used to get all of his duties done by sunrise just so they could hunker down and listen once more to their favorite story.

“Talltail ended up going home and leaving dad to rule his Kingdom.”

“Dad was always so sad when he told that part,” Lūna said. “But he’d experienced for a short time the life of a wildcat. He decided it wasn’t for him but that doesn’t mean it’s not for you.”

Lūna wrapped her paw around his shoulder and licked the top of his head.

“Dad said he’d do all of it over again because the one thing you’ll regret more than anything is not try.”

Morning passed quickly and all too soon Ūshurū’s light was dimming as he swept to the other side of the world. As Ashura graceful climbed into the sky, Rusty found himself standing beside Coral in the meeting spot. The tip of his tail twitched with anticipation. He’d made his choice just as they passed through the gates. He and Coral had exchanged a quick greeting but had been otherwise silent the entire way.

Rusty’s ears pricked and he picked up the sound of an approaching group. Coral rose to her paw and he did the same stalking deeper into the woods. He worried at the last minute ‘what if it’s not them?’ when a small team of cats stepped into the clearing. Rusty recognized Lionheart and Graypaw but the jumpy thin black tom and the large brown one with soft eyes were new.

Graypaw rushed forward eager to see them tail high in the air.

“Hello,” he said. “Ar-akup.”

Rusty and Coral exchanged a surprised expression at his greeting.

“He’s been saying it all day,” Lionheart rumbled. “He’s driven the whole clan mad telling it to everyone.”

Coral giggled, “Arta-akūp Lionheart.”

“Oh,” said Graypaw. “That’s how it’s pronounced.”

“You tried,” Rusty said.

Lionheart chuckled shaking his thick coat and Rusty wondered if he had just been grumpy four sunsets ago. The golden cat seemed to be in a much better mood now. He supposed that he and Coral had been intruders so it made sense that the tom hadn’t been very friendly to them.

“This is Larkwing,” said Lionheart motioning towards the brown tom. “And his apprentice, Ravenpaw.”

The apprentice in question flinched when all attention was brought to him.

“Hi,” said Ravenpaw with flattened ears,

“So jumpy,” Graypaw said rolling his eyes. “Chin up Ravenpaw!”

“Graypaw,” warned Lionheart with narrowed eyes.

“Sorry,” Graypaw said ducking his head.

“Lively bunch you all are,” Coral said laughing.

“Sorry to push,” Larkwing spoke up. “But have you made your decision?”

“...I’m staying,” Coral said after a pause. Catching Graypaw’s surprised look, she explained. “We have something like warriors too- except ours are a small group by nature. Only a few kits are accepted as a Gre- er,  _ apprentice,  _ and I was selected a few sunrises back.”

“Oh,” Graypaw said deflated.

Coral nudged him.

“I can visit,” she said. “I’ll wait by the path and when you’re patrolling you can talk to me. I won’t be in ThunderClan territory so we won’t have to fight it out.”

Rusty hid his laughter at the way the tom perked up. Ravenpaw noticed and slunk a little closer looking both shy and cunning. His tail twitched as he pressed closer to Rusty mischief dancing in his eyes.

“He’s been talking about her for sunrises-” his whiskers twitched, “-I think he has a crush on her.”

“He’s not the first,” Rusty said swallowing a snicker. “Coral’s had suitors from all over the Kingdom.”

“He’ll get over it.”

“They always do.”

“Rusty?”

He looked up in surprise. Coral was staring at her purring, she had her head tilted. From Lionheart and Graypaw staring at him, he came to the realization a question had been asked. Rusty’s ears flattened and he smiled sheepishly when Coral burst into laughter.

“He asked for your decision,” she said amused.

“I-I’m going,” he said.

He eyed his sister warily. She caught his gaze and smiled resting her tail on his shoulders. 

“It’s okay,” she said. “I knew you were going.”

“You did?” he said.

“You’re just like dad,” said Coral. “I think we always knew you’d want to see what’s beyond the courtyard.”

Rusty stared before moving to rest his chin on top of her head. 

“You’re amazing,” he said.

“I hate to interrupt-” they glanced up to the brown tabby, “-It’s late and we have to finish our patrol and return.”

“You’re leaving tonight?” Coral said her tail drooping.

“I’m sorry,” Lionheart said.

And he did seem sorry, with his lowered head. He gave them a half-hearted smile as if to tell say he’d wait longer if he could. Rusty nudged his sister making her glance up. She sighed softly and moved closer to her favorite brother.

“I’m not traveling too far,” Rusty said. After all, if the clan cats could not be seen for moons and moons but still be able to show up in four sunrises, then they might live nearby. He received no verbal contradiction from the clan cats at least.

“You should go home,” said Rusty with a nudge. “You know how mother feels about you being out late.”

Coral scowled and swept her tail across the ground. Graypaw and Ravenpaw exchanged a look of confusion at her mood change.

“Yeah, she doesn’t trust me,” she said.

“She trusts you,” Rusty insisted. “But you’re-”

“The youngest,” she grumbled. “Yeah. I know.”

Rusty licked her ear and her frown slipped into a smile. She nudged him looking both sad and proud. She took a single pawstep back and gave him a nod.

“ _ Artakūp sokō _ ,” Coral said.

“ _ Artakūp sokō _ ,” Rusty said.

He watched his sister turn and pad away slipping back onto the main path. He made sure her silvery coat was engraved in his mind as he watched her leave. His eyes stung when she glanced back then turned and sprinted the rest of the way back. Rusty shook his head to sober up. A pang of worry filled him and he sent a silent prayer to Lūna for her to look after their littlest sister.

"Okay, I'm ready," said Rusty.

Lionheart flicked his tail and strode off with Larkwing by his side. The two apprentices nudged the prince.

Rusty followed.


	4. Cats of Thunder

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rusty gets an impromptu test for his entry Thunderclan.

**Cats of Thunder(Rusty’s POV)**

Rusty did his best to keep up. He envied their practiced movements and the way even Ravenpaw was leaping rocks with confidence. He lengthened his strides to match Graypaw’s and took a moment to be grateful Coral had run him ragged when practicing basic Guardian training. She’d said it was just in case she got chosen and while he’d been annoyed before, he was convinced now he’d never have kept up otherwise. With all the trees blurring by him, Rusty was thoroughly confused within seconds.

All it took was one leap for Lionheart and Larkwing to clear logs. Ravenpaw and Graypaw simply bounced over them like stairs. Rusty grit his teeth and scrambled over the obstacles as efficiently as he could muster. The pace they kept was grueling and being unused to all of this, his lungs screamed desperately for oxygen within minutes. His delicate pads more used to soft, spongey floor complained aggressively from the non-stop running. He stepped on more than his fair share of stones (and _ blazing embers did those hurt _ ) so he was sure his paw was bleeding.

If his oxygen-deprived lungs wouldn’t attempt homicide, he would’ve sighed in relief at the sight of a ditch filled with water. He almost slowed down expecting them to stop and find another way around, but the four wild cats just dove in and began swimming with a new level of determination.

‘Ashura’s teets you have to be kidding me,’ Rusty thought in despair. Despite his new conclusion that clan cats were insane, he splashed in without hesitation. He was ready to cry when he surfaced on the other side the cold water having drenched his coat reaching his skin. He chattered but pushed himself into another crazed sprint as the clan cats once again picked up their pace.

‘Maybe I should’ve stayed home,’ he thought to himself.

He was so focused on keeping up, he almost crashed right into Lionheart’s hindquarters when the larger tom stopped. All of them were panting lightly but Rusty outright collapsed his chest heaving. He didn’t even care about their amused chuckles. He was just glad to begin sucking in air as rapidly as he could.

“You okay there?” Larkwing asked with concern in his voice.

Rusty’s eyes cracked open.

“You-” he sucked in more air. “-are all blazing  _ sadists _ .”

The clan cats laughed even harder at his declaration even as he staggered to his paws. His poor pads protested being put back into use so soon but he promised them they’d rest soon. Despite the sharp pain in his paws, Rusty noted they were traveling much slower than before. Walking instead of making a desperate and crazed sprint, allowing him to truly take in the smells of the night forest. He’d never been this deep in- especially not without any of his littermates and he had a feeling that the pang of loneliness that struck him would be something he grew used to. Rusty looked up as the group of clan cats stopped walking.

“We’re here,” Lionheart announced with a wave of his tail.

Rusty tilted his head and sniffed the air. He managed to narrow down the source of the smell, promptly recoiling from the foreign scent on a tangle of gorse bushes. He sneezed much to the amusement of Graypaw who snickered at his reaction.

“Oh hush,” Rusty said shoving him. Graypaw sent a swipe at his ear still laughing.

Larkwing pushed into the tunnel first followed swiftly by Ravenpaw. Lionheart went in after him grunting when his shoulders got caught. The golden tom struggled for a second and Rusty stifled his laughter when the large tom managed to slip in. Graypaw had no such respect and bounded after his mentor teasing him the entire way. Then it was his turn so Rusty went inside grimacing when the thorns managed to snag his coat but he tumbled through in a much more dignified manner than Lionheart. 

He stepped into camp and was overwhelmed on the spot. It was like being in the center of a Kingdom-wide call to arms. Everywhere he looked there were cats with leaves and berries slung over their bodies. He watched small kits running around getting beneath other cat’s paws. There was a scent of stale blood from previously caught prey but also fresh kills overpowering the scent. He raised his head when curious eyes turned to him. Rusty felt his nerves writhing like worms in his stomach. Curious eyes drew over to them with intrigue for his foreign scent.

But he was a prince. He wouldn’t be intimidated.

Rusty met the eyes without shame. He held their gaze until they glanced away. The tom grunted and glanced up when Lionheart bumped him. He nodded after him and started to lead him through the camp. The tom waves his tail goodbye to Graypaw and Ravenpaw as they peeled off in the camp. Lionheart and Larkwing led him to a large fallen tree covered in moss perfectly hidden within the hollow. He noticed a crevice just large enough for a cat to squeeze through.

“Bluestar?” the golden tom said.

The blue-furred leader poked her head out then purred. She clambered out landing gracefully on the flat space near them glancing down at him.

“He came,” she remarked with pride.

“And kept up amazingly well,” said Larkwing.

“It’s decided then?” she asked.

Both toms nodded with agreement. With a purr, the molly trotted off towards the large rocks in the center of the clearing. He cocked his head curious blinking with surprise when she promptly began scaling the rocks. He jolted when he was nudged and followed her up with Lionheart who was staring curiously. The former prince glanced around, observing the cats watching him take a spot next to their leader. He kept his head held high like he’d been taught to showing no sign of weakness or shame. 

Bluestar raised her head. Most of the clearing was already looking at her, but she still called out, “Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey join here beneath the highrock for a clan meeting!”

Rusty had to do a double-take as more cats join the clearing. He went back to the analogy of a Kingdom-wide call to arms. A slender tortie tom joined them at the top of the rock eyeing Rusty oddly. His bright red tail swished and wrapped around his paws. Rusty cocked his head and raised an eyebrow at the critical look being directed at him. The tortie turned his head and averted his eyes. Rusty chuckled and returned his attention to the crowd below all of whom were murmuring about his appearance. 

“Who’s the mouse up there?”

“I don’t know, it doesn’t smell like a clan I know.”

“He’s a kittypet- look at the thing on his head!”

‘Thing?’ Rusty asked himself in confusion. Then he realized he was still wearing his circuit. He felt silly that he’d forgot to take it off and quietly did so setting it in front of his paws delicately. 

“This cat has been invited to be a resident of Thunderclan,” the leader began.

“Luck to be a member of Thunderclan..” someone muttered.

Bluestar’s eyes narrowed slightly but otherwise acted as if she hadn’t heard anything. Rusty for his part began searching for the source of the comment. He’d expected pushback from the clan cats because not everywhere was accepting. It was a sad fact of the world but that was just life sometimes.

“This tom has shown great promise and has accepted the offer of being invited into the clan,” the leader continued.

“He should just go back to his twolegs,” the same voice grumbled.

“Longtail,” the tortie remarked in a quiet voice. “A young warrior, very mouthy though.”

By this point, Rusty had finally zeroed in on the pale tabby warrior with jet black stripes. He was glaring up at him resentment glinting maliciously in his eyes. Rusty locked eyes with the tom and shot him a cool look of noble disdain and disinterest. The tom bared his teeth in offense at his dismissal. He piped up again having commandeered the entire meeting from his leader by this point.

“What we need is a clanborn warrior that can defend itself not an adult kit who needs to be paw-fed and is still nursing,” he snarled. “Lionclan could be ashamed of us to invite this little house cat to chase squirrels made of fog!”

“What do you do when faced with confrontation?” Lionheart asked.

Rusty ignored him slowly processing his encounter with Graypaw. The smaller tom had come to respect them when they’d proven themselves capable. Bluestar and Lionheart had even calmed down and invited him to the clan when he and his sister proved that they were intelligent enough to hold their own in battle. Catching Bluestar’s curious and critical eyes with his own, he wondered if the circumstances were the same as before.

“He’s clumsy and if his pitiful skills don’t lead him to starve himself trying to hunt, he’ll off himself in battle with pure incompetence-”

Rusty snapped locking onto his target. He tensed his muscles and took a bold flying leap from the top of the highrock. Landing on the back of the startled tabby, he sank his teeth deep into the first patch of fur he could reach biting all the way down to the skin. The cats around them scrambled away from them as Longtail yowled in pain trying to buck him off. He let himself be thrown and hit the ground with a planned roll falling into a practiced defense crouch he’d been taught. 

Longtail snarled and launched himself directly at him. Rusty ducked and let the tom fly over him snatching his tail in his jaws. The tabby yowled in pain and whipped around to swipe at him. Rusty hissed and released his tail jumping back as the tom fell into a tense crouch. The tabby’s coat seemed to crackle and he lashed out feinting and slamming a paw into his face when Rusty fell for it. He shook his head staggering a little seeing starts but managed to swipe his left ear. His claws cut through delicate flesh and he felt triumphant. 

Longtail leaped at him once more and Rusty dodged but was caught by his scruff and tossed. He rolled again and when the tabby lunged at him, he swiped a pawful of sand into his eyes. The tom yowled with pain, staggering back shaking his head. Rusty smirked seeing the tear in the tom’s ear alongside the gash on the right side of his muzzle. Blood pounded in his ears and he shot the tom a cocky expression.

‘Your move,’ Rusty conveyed silently.

The tabby stared at him with venom in his eyes and made to launch himself back at him until Bluestar stepped in stopping their battle from continuing. His tail lashed furiously and Rusty purred smirking at the hostile tom and raised his head. He met everyone’s eyes with confidence daring anyone to challenge him. Everyone looked away and there was grudging respect growing onto their faces. He spotted Graypaw and Ravenpaw in the crowd smiling with pride for their new friend.

“This cat has proven himself capable of supporting the clan,” Bluestar announced to the clan. He glanced up as Bluestar smiled at him in approval. The gray molly looked him over eyeing his coat in the moonlight. “You look like a silver fire in this light.”

Rusty tilted his head blinking. The comment had been muttered as if he hadn’t been meant to hear it. He let it be as she raised her voice and began to speak once more.

“You have fought well, so for now on until you receive your warrior name, your name will be Firepaw- in honor of your flame-colored coat!”

The newly named Firepaw raised his head with pride listening to the clan chant his name.

“Firepaw! Firepaw! Firepaw!”

Bluestar raised a paw causing everyone to quiet down.

“As his induction into the clan was my idea, I will take him on as an apprentice,” the leader informed and Firepaw saw looks of shock appearing on the faces of cats all throughout the clearing. Hearing this the clan took her silent dismissal for what it was and began to split off. The molly glanced down at her new apprentice. “Go see your friends and then off to bed with you. You have a lot of catching up Firepaw.”

“Yes Bluestar,” he agreed.

Bluestar gave him an approving nod and started off with the tortie towards the log den. He glanced back purring when Graypaw and Ravenpaw approached him with excitement in their eyes.

“That was amazing,” Ravenpaw said trembling with delight.

“I told you he was good,” Graypaw boasted. “You should’ve seen his sister’s skills.”

“Glad you’re both impressed,” Firepaw chuckled.

“Are you hurt?” said Ravenpaw.

“No,” Firepaw said. “A couple of scratches but nothing that won’t heal. Question, where did Longtail go slinking off to?”

“Spottedleaf’s den,” Graypaw informed. “You’ve spoiled his good looks and his reputation today.”

“Spottedleaf?” The ex-prince asked.

“The medicine cat,” the gray tom informed. “She takes care of our clan.”

“A healer,” Firepaw identified glancing around for her. Ravenpaw directed his attention to a pretty molly tortie. He took notice of the small pouch of leaves hung around her neck by twined ivy tendrils. Graypaw nudged him regaining his attention.

“She’s not bad looking either, younger and prettier than most,” the apprentice said slyly. “But you didn’t hear that from me.”

“Graypaw,” Ravenpaw chided with a grin.

Firepaw suppressed a laugh smirking as they made their way to where he assumed he would be sleeping. He opened his mouth to comment but they were stopped by a large dark tom. The line of fur on his back stood up like an enraged hedgehog. He stared down at them and scoffed when he looked at Firepaw.

“Lucky Bluestar stepped in when she did,” he sneered. “Longtail is a newer warrior but I expect that even he’s ashamed to have been bested by a  _ kittypet _ .”

Firepaw dodged the intention swing of the tom’s tail aimed at his head. He glared at the dark tabby’s retreating figure debating if it was worth it to take a swipe at him or if it would land him in trouble.

“Well, Darkstripe isn’t young or pretty.”

Firepaw stumbled and Graypaw almost fell as they both burst into laughter from Ravenpaw’s idle comment. The two more experienced apprentices led him towards a large bush with a gap near the roots. Firepaw was curious as they pushed in and scowled when his fur was tugged by the branched. He huffed but the ground sloped downwards and packed soil was cool on his paws. Entering the clearing at the bottom of the tunnel, it opened into a large packed soil area full of nests made of moss. Graypaw stepped into one a little closer to the back with Ravenpaw taking a nest one over. The black tom gestured to the nest between them invitingly.

“You can sleep here,” Graypaw offered.

Firepaw purred at their welcoming gesture and scampered into the opening. He curled up and began to settle down. His muscles sang with joy all of his soreness and aches returning now that he was calm. The moss was a little scratchy and not at all what he was used to, but he was so tired, he could’ve slept in a lit pyre. He gave a little stretch burrowed his muzzle beneath his paw.

He gave a tiny yawn and made a request for Ashura to watch over his brothers and sisters, then he went to sleep.


	5. Blood Spills

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Firepaw gets into a fight.

**Chapter 4: Blood Spills**

“Firepaw? Come on Firepaw- up you get!”

‘Who’s Firepaw?’ the ginger tom thought to himself. ‘Hope he gets up soon.’

He nestled further into his nest curling up tighter. Just as he buried his nose under his tail, he felt a sharp prodding in his side. He hissed reflexively and heard an amused laugh. Forcing his eyes open, he stared blankly into a pair of pale blue eyes.

“Time to get up,” the eye’s owner said.

‘Bluestar?’ He realized. The events of yesterday hit him full force and he whined as sore muscles complained at the memory. A yawn crawled its way out and he stretched trying to wake up his stiff limbs. He shook his head in exhaustion and stood up. Firepaw followed his leader outside to the main clearing still yawning. His paws touched the damp earth sending a shiver through him. Bluestar led him over to the entrance where the bright tailed tom from before stood alongside a brown striped tabby, with them was a white tom and a paler molly talking to the small brown tom.

“Finally,” the tom remarked.

“Dustpaw,” chided the other cat.

“He was sleeping heavier than a dead hare,” said Bluestar.

Firepaw didn’t react beyond glancing over and feeling his whiskers twitch with annoyance as Ushuru was only starting his stride into the skies. He shook the sleep from his coat one last time as Bluestar deemed it acceptable to tell him why the blazing embers she woke him up before the birds had begun to sing.

“Protecting and guarding camp borders is important to ensure we have what we need to survive, dawn patrol is one of the three ordinary patrols you will be joining as a member of this clan,” the leader lectured.

“So that’s why I’m up at the rump crack of dawn,” he grunted.

Dustpaw couldn’t stop the snort of amusement that escaped him at the phrase. The pale molly then asked, “What’s wrong with you furball?”

Firepaw shrugged, “Not a morning cat.”

“Obviously,” said Dustpaw.

“So names,” Firepaw prompted. “You know mine.”

“I’m Sandpaw,” the pale molly introduced. Then she nodded towards the white tom, “and that’s my mentor Whitestorm.”

“Dustpaw,” said the other apprentice adding, “And my mentor Redtail.”

“Ras-Akup,” Firepaw said with a nod.

“What does that  _ mean _ ?” Redtail demanded. “Graypaw was spouting something similar from sunhigh to sunset!”

Firepaw laughed as Bluestar led them from camp and explained.

“Respectful ‘Good morning’ loosely means ‘Morning Sky.’”

“It’s weird,” Sandpaw decided.

“So is a place with no caretakers,” the ginger tom said airily. He observed the land around him with faint moments of recognition, from the rushed sprint the night before. Firepaw tried to take in all he could now that his lungs weren’t shutting down on him. They reached the edge of the land and started to follow a river. He watched Redtail sniff up to a specific line of trees and began scent marking.

He tilted his head before dismissing the situation and moved on. The smell of fish began to invade his senses and Firepaw coughed a little. He’d eaten fish before but the scent was far stronger near the water. He grimaced as the ground squelched beneath his paws with a bit of mud rising up. The mud got caught in his claws and he suppressed a full-body shudder when the cold mud made contact with his pads. Firepaw tried to shake it off as discretely as he could with revulsion riding through his stomach.

“Gross,” he huffed.

Dustpaw nodded in silent agreement as Bluestar spoke up.

“Over there would be Riverclan territory,” she explained gesturing across the river. “This river serves as a natural border between us- but be careful of Riverclan warriors lurking within the river itself.”

“Memorize that scent,” Redtail agreed. “Riverclan is always after Sunningrocks.”

‘Sunningrocks,’ Firepaw blinked. ‘They have a set group of rocks dedicated to sunning themselves?’

Then he realized he was being a hypocrite seeing as the kingdom had a public sunning center for everycat to share. Bluestar restarted their walk as Redtail finished marking the border. She led them alongside the river and Firepaw stifled a yawn.

"Still not awake kittypet?" teased Sandpaw.

"One: don't call me kittypet, two: even my mother had to drag me tail-first out of my bedding if she wanted me up before sunhigh," Firepaw grumbled in response.

"You really don't like being awake huh?" Said Dustpaw.

"Only when even the birds are just getting up," he said.

Whitestorm chuckled as they came to a stop. Firepaw glanced around curiously. He eyed the pine trees across from them. Shaking his head, he tried to process the new scents that drifted towards him. Thunderclan and Riverclan he identified but the smell of pine sap and musk had him wrinkling his nose. Following his gaze, Redtail grinned at his expression.

"That would be Shadowclan you're smelling," the tortie informed.

"And the moor is Windclan," Whitestorm added.

Firepaw shook his head, "So many of you live so close together."

"We may be of different clans but we have more in common with each other than we often acknowledge," said Bluestar. "We note these similarities on the days of the full moon during Gatherings at Fourtrees."

Firepaw opted not to ask where 'Fourtrees' was instead thinking of the moon from the night before.

"So the fullest moon is a little while off," he said aloud.

"Correct," said Bluestar.

"So if you're capable of meeting in peace every full moon and it's a struggle to get food, why not just share territory?" asked Firepaw.

"That's bold," Dustpaw said with narrowed eyes.

Firepaw looked at him and asked, "Bold to wonder ‘why starve’ when you can work together?"

"We're too different," Redtail said. "We all have our preferable ways of living. There isn't a need to force anyone to live a way they don't want."

"Yeah, can you imagine living with Riverclan?" Said Sandpaw wrinkling her nose. "Wet paws every day. And endless mud."

"And how does Windclan feel safe when they don't have any trees?" Dustpaw said. 

"Your concern is appreciated," Redtail added. "But as similar as we are, the differences matter."

"I guess that makes sense," Firepaw said thinking about the other kingdoms. Differences in opinion could be dealt with but differences in lifestyle could make for very unhappy residents. Bluestar flicked her tail and they began the trek back to the Thunderclan camp.

Firepaw had to stop himself multiple times from sprinting off after the first squirrel he smelled. Of course, when the gorse tunnel was in sight he darted in and veered straight for the fresh-kill pile. He stood there with the smell filling his nose trying to decide what his first prey should be. Remembering the failed catch that started it all, he grabbed a mouse and wolfed it down.

"Hungry were you?"

Firepaw glanced up into the amused faces of Graypaw and Ravenpaw.

"Sut up-" he swallowed the mouse. "- you weren't on dawn patrol."

"You could have waited for the rest of us," huffed Sandpaw as she and Dustpaw made their way over. Bluestar seemed amused herself when she noticed her apprentice sitting by the fresh-kill pile. The molly motioned for him to enjoy himself and used her tail to beckon a battle-scarred tom into her den.

"Not my fault you wanted to move slower than a minnow swimming upstream," he said in a dismissive tone. He turned to Graypaw and Ravenpaw. "What were you two doing?"

"Hunting practice," said Ravenpaw. "We got back just before you did."

"Yeah that was my mouse you ate," Graypaw said.

"It was delicious," Firepaw said smirking.

"You're mean," Graypaw decided when the other apprentices began to laugh.

"Prey's meant to be eaten," said Dustpaw.

"Yeah, yeah," Graypaw said nudging Firepaw over. He settled down with his friend and began grooming his coat.

"So what now?" Firepaw asked. "Anything I should be doing?"

Sandpaw yawned, "We just got back from the Dawn Patrol. I'm not sure about you, but  _ I'm  _ going to sleep. See you, furball."

"I'm with her," said Dustpaw getting to his paws.

Firepaw gave him a nod as they left and turned his attention to the last apprentices with him.

"...Well, we could collect herbs for Spottedleaf."

\---

"So if a mouse feels you before it sees you, what would you think is the best way to catch one?"

"Step lightly?"

"Yes well done. Let's see your hunter's crouch."

It didn't take long to fall into a routine. Some days Firepaw could curl into his nest and only get up when the sun seeped through his coat and the birds were already chattering. On others, Bluestar would drag him from his blissful sleep to parade around the long stretches of trees with different groups of cats just as Ashura was beginning to lay down. He was viciously pleased to see most cats were just as reluctant about the concept of 'dawn patrol' as he was. 

On the days he had dawn patrol, he'd grab a snack and talk to his friends. As soon as he'd finish, he crawls back into his bedding and sleep until sunhigh of the next day.

Days without dawn patrol were the best.

Bluestar would take him to a special sandy hallow to give him one on one training. Sometimes he'd catch her eye and she'd give him an approving nod and his heart would explode with pride.

Today was one of those days.

Bluestar circled around him eyeing his crouch.

"Nicely done," she said. "Your tail is still a little too high up but I would like to see your best attempt at stalking a mouse."

With a frown of concentration, Firepaw started moving forward. He dropped his paws as light as he could on the ground. Stepping in a dainty fashion like he was walking on itchy leaves. He made a target of a stump across the clearing and continued his slow approach eyes never leaving his target. This became a mistake as a loud crack rang through the air. Firepaw snarled with frustration and sat up.

Bluestar trotted over.

"You should've been paying more attention," she scolded lightly.

"Sorry," Firepaw sighed.

"It's okay, you're new at this," said Bluestar. "Next time try to watch your prey, but also watch where you step."

Firepaw felt a little better at this but that didn't stop his frustrations knowing that the other apprentices had more than likely mastered this already. He trotted ahead of his mentor, scampering up the rocks that sloped downwards into the hollow and clambered out. She caught and padded alongside him. She seemed to notice his lingering aggravation.

"You're learning fast," she praised. "Keep practicing."

Firepaw purred a little with pride, a small bit of weight lifting from his. He meowed a greeting to Lionheart standing guard at the gorse tunnel entrance. Slipping inside, he waited for Bluestar to give him his last assignment for the day. The grayish molly flicked her tail and said, "Head to Dappletail for one last lesson. Then you're free to go."

The tom nodded and turned to head off when Bluestar called after him, "I'll be busy the next morning so head out on Dawn Patrol with Redtail Firepaw!"

"Yes Bluestar," he said back and turned to make his way to the elder's den. He padded in and started to the back of the den. Seeing other apprentices already there, he stayed quiet and slunk into a space next to Graypaw.

Dappletail, the old but stubborn to help tortoiseshell acknowledged his presence with a nod. 

“What are we talking about?” Firepaw whispered to Graypaw.

The fluffy kitten responded softly, “The gifts from Leopardclan.”

The small tom nodded and returned his attention to Dappletail who is listening to Sandpaw give her answer to a question.

“Well, all cats got the ability to swim but Riverclan but the one who really accepted the gift,” the pale molly recited. “Because of their complete acceptance of the gift, Riverclan is the one who usually inherits the spots of Leopardclan.”

“And that’s why Leopardfur is so incredible,” Ravenpaw added. “She has the marks of a true Leopardclan member.”

“Precisely,” said Dappletail.

“What about Lionheart?” said Firepaw. “He’s got the mane of a LionClan member.”

“Well done Firepaw,” the tortie said approvingly. “That is right. Lionheart has had the beginnings of a mane since he as an apprentice and was renamed for it.”

Firepaw raised his head with pride and grinned when Dustpaw sent him an approving nod. 

The history lesson went on for a while longer and Firepaw found himself intrigued by all of it. Leopardclan apparently granted also granted the clans remarkable hunting abilities and great speed mentioning in particular, the amazing Leopardclan warrior Fleetfoot who managed to take down two monstrous boars and earned exclusive hunting rights to the river. Sure the other apprentices gave him an amused expression when he started badgering the elder with questions but they grew up with this. He didn’t.

“You’re such a nerd,” Sandpaw said in a teasing voice.

“Sure,” Firepaw said. “But I wanna hunt an enormous evil boar and drag it home to show my accomplishments now.”

Dustpaw and Sandpaw laughed as Graypaw nudged him.

“You haven’t even caught a rabbit yet,” said Ravenpaw. “Start with those Mr. BoarHunter.”

“How about I start with  _ you all! _ ” Firepaw said and started chasing his cackling friends.

\----

“Firepaw? Firepaw, come on!”

The ginger tom opened his eyes and yawned loud enough popping his jaw. He clambered to his paw and fell into a stretch and tried to shake the sleepiness out of his paws. He’s never going to get used to Dawn Patrol times. He stumbled out of his nest after Ravenpaw who chuckled at his groggy expression.

Redtail chuckled at them when the two apprentices made their way over. Firepaw scanned the patrol identifying the patrol as Mousefur, Larkwing, Redtail, and Tigerclaw. He blinked, a little confused by such a large number of cats including himself and Ravenpaw, for simple Dawn Patrol. Seeing his confusion, the tortie deputy explained, “We’ve received word of Riverclan scent being across the border again. We’re preparing for an ambush just in case.”

Firepaw felt his blood boil with excitement. He exchanged a delighted expression with Ravenpaw who looked just as eager to be participating in a battle. Catching the look, Redtail shot them both a warning look. “Battle is a last resort- we’ll be attempting a peaceful resolution first.”

“Yes Redtail,” the two apprentices chorused.

The two cats fell into line as Redtail took the lead. The lingering exhaustion in Firepaw’s legs had evaporated with the possibility of a fight. The tom leaped over the rocks and sprung over logs and slipped under bushes. Pride flowed through him even when he stumbled a few times, he’d managed to get a little bit of the natural grace and skill that all Thunderclan cats seemed to have. Firepaw hadn’t memorized the entire border route yet, but when the stench of Riverclan entered his lungs without the river anywhere in sight, he knew the water-loving warriors had overstepped their boundaries. The quiet and almost breathless snarl from Ravenpaw let him know he wasn’t the only one who caught the scent either. 

As the soft grass melded into the dirt and the scent of Riverclan became stronger and stronger, Firepaw quickly understood where they were headed.

Sunningrocks.

Land lost to Riverclan that Redtail had been planning on retaking. 

It seemed that upon their capture of the taken territory, Riverclan had grown arrogant and decided they would take more than just the coveted rocks. The scent of anger invaded his nose and Firepaw realized at that moment that Redtail no longer had any intentions of peaceful negotiation. So when they heard the retreating pawsteps of a group of cats reeking of Riverclan, the ginger tom wasn’t surprised at the screech of, “Thunderclan, attack!”

The water-dwelling warriors were caught grooming under their tails.

Firepaw slammed into a broad-shouldered apprentice bowling him over and sinking his teeth into his scruff. The apprentice yowled in shock and whirled around and sent a paw at his face. The ginger tom ducked the attack and snapped at the retreating paw. The apprentice jumped back and slashed at his muzzle once more. Firepaw slipped under him and swiped at his stomach. He hissed in warning as the apprentice hissed back and turned to attack him. When the brown apprentice went to attack, a black blur slammed into him.

Ravenpaw rolled off of the tom and sank his teeth in his ear. The apprentice yelped and stumbled back into Firepaw who bit into his tail. The apprentice backed away wrenched his tail free and darted away back towards Riverclan territory. The thin apprentice shot him an expression of triumph, the little white patch on his chest splattered with blood. The tom looked nothing like the shy cat he’d met and Firepaw truly saw the warrior of Thunderclan he was born to be.

The dark tom nodded and disappeared into the whirling, snarling mess of fur.

The blood pounded in his ears and Firepaw glanced around still raring for a fight. He caught sight of Oakheart and Redtail circling each other fur bristled and matted with blood. Both deputies were covered in cuts and tears. Oakheart, the large brown tom with a bleeding ear and claw marks gouged into his shoulder. Redtail had blood trickling down his face and legs. They snarled at each other and exchanged a pair of swipes.

“How dare you intrude on Thunderclan territory!” Redtail yowled over the sound of battle. Oakheart’s response was lost in the caterwauls of cats around him and the two deputies went back into a heated scuffle.

Firepaw returned his attention to a silver apprentice that tried to retreat deeper into Thunderclan woods. The ginger tom smirked to himself knowing just how hard it is to maneuver in Thunderclan territory when you’re new to the undergrowth. He drove the apprentice into a thorny bush. The silver tom panicked as his coat became tangled and struggled to free himself. Firepaw swiped at him twice more before taking pity on the fearful apprentice.

_ “A warrior doesn’t need to kill for them to be victorious.” _

He ripped the silver tom from the bushes and tossed him to the ground.

“Run,” growled Firepaw.

The apprentice took the opening for what it was and sprinted back in the direction of the battle. Firepaw himself started back having gone deep into Thunderclan territory and made his way back to sounds of screeching and yelling.

_ “ _ Riverclan!” He heard. “Oakheart is  _ dead _ ! You’ve lost his battle!”

Firepaw picked up the pace in confusion, why had Oakheart been killed? The warriors had told him about how warriors shouldn’t kill to win battles.

‘Must’ve been the heart of the battle,’ he mused.

He ran as fast as he could the trees blurring by him. The sounds of combat had grown silent but the smell of blood allowed him to pinpoint the location of the fight. He cleared a log and slammed right into Ravenpaw who was bowled over. The two apprentices rolled a little before coming to a stop. Ravenpaw staggered to his paws, legs shaking as blood poured from a wound on his shoulder.

“Ravenpaw? What’s wrong?” Firepaw demanded. “Are you okay?”

The apprentice glanced up with pure terror in his eyes.

“Ravenpaw?”

“Firepaw-” the apprentice staggered. “Oakheart, he, I-  _ Redtail is dead _ .”


	6. Yellowfang

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Firepaw has his first solo mission

**Chapter 5: Yellowfang**

“Will they be alright?”

“As alright as they can be.”

Firepaw nodded and pulled away from Spottedleaf. The medicine cat was putting on a brave mask, hiding her pain. The smell of grief rolled off of her in suffocating waves, but she still smiled, trying to soothe Ravenpaw.

Coming back to the camp had been hard, Ravenpaw had explained the entire situation as best as he could with Firepaw reporting what he’d seen and heard. He was just getting to the part where Redtail had declared Oakheart dead when his fellow apprentice collapsed on the ground bleeding heavily.

Not long after they’d finished their story, Tigerclaw returned with the rest of the patrol, dragging with him the limp, broken body of Redtail.

“Struck down by a Riverclan warrior,” Tigerclaw had said. “But he was gloating, so I took the chance to avenge our clanmate.”

‘Riverclan must’ve wanted revenge for Oakheart,’ Firepaw mused grimly. ‘A life for a life.’

The clan had cried out in shock and fear, Spottedleaf coming sprinting over to the fallen apprentice. It was a terrifying chaos as everyone tried to process the death of a beloved deputy.

The worst reactions had come from Dustpaw and Sandpaw.

It drew his attention like everyone else, the grief-stricken yowl from Sandpaw, who sprinted over and buried her face in the bloodied fur, shaking and trembling. In contrast, Dustpaw had staggered over and collapsed, his legs giving out, huddled close to Sandpaw.

“Redtail is her father,” Graypaw had whispered to him, blinking back his own tears. “And you know Dustpaw is his apprentice.”

Seeing his friend shaking his head, eyes glassy and confused, Firepaw had herded Graypaw to the medicine cat den. Spottedleaf concluded he was going into shock and began treating him as Firepaw watched the formerly delighted clearing become trapped in a heavy, inescapable cloud of grief.

After coaxing Graypaw to eat several small black seeds, Firepaw was made to take some. He ate them without complaint and Spottedleaf left her den, gently shooing Dustpaw and Sandpaw away from the still bleeding corpse.

“What will happen to Redtail?” Firepaw asked.

“Spottedleaf will prepare him to spend the rest of the night with his clanmates before he makes his journey to Starclan,” said Graypaw.

“Starclan?”

“Our warrior ancestors. They live within the Silverpelt of the sky watching over us. Tonight, Redtail will join their ranks.”

The scholar in Firepaw wanted to ask if there were any similarities between Starclan and the Kingdom Beyond, but the Prince who’d been given lessons intact grabbed the scholar and mauled it.

Now was not the time.

Instead, he dragged his gaze towards Highrock as a shadow coated blocked out the light. Bluestar perched at the top didn’t need to call the clan together. Every cat was already in the clearing, gathered around Redtail’s body. The blue molly seemed to be weighed down carrying everyone's pain on her shoulders, the grief her eyes shone brightly as she took a deep breath.

“No cat lives forever and Redtail wasn’t a cat who expected to. He was a brave cat who served his clan to his last breath. Valuing justice and fairness, Redtail showed all the qualities any leader could make- he was a fine deputy that I trusted with my life. He will be a great warrior of Starclan. Now let us all sit together one last time, for Redtail.”

With that, she picked her way to the ground and walked over to the body of Redtail. Said body, Firepaw now realized, was full of little flower buds and the gash in his neck had been filled with white carnations. It was beautiful in a very sad way.

“How long will they sit with him?”

“The whole night,” Graypaw said. “The ones closest to his body are the cats closest to him in life. We don’t have to stay for the night, we’re only required to listen to his final sendoff.”

Firepaw turned his head toward the grieving group, his eyes falling on Spottedleaf. Now that the medicine cat had no more patients, she seemed to lose her spirit. She crumpled to the ground like a sparrow hit mid-flight. Graypaw seeing his lingering gaze explained, “Spottedleaf is his sister. She will miss him a lot.”

“Maybe someone should watch her…” Firepaw mused his heart aching in sympathy. His thoughts went to Coral for a long moment. If Spottedleaf was as close to her brother as he was to his little sister... He was impressed with the level of control she held over her emotions. He wouldn't be able to handle the grief. 

He shook his head and nudged his friend, who stumbled. Graypaw sent him a confused look until Firepaw nudged him towards the apprentice’s den. “You need to rest.”

Graypaw opened his mouth to protest but then sighed. “You’re right. Thank you, Firepaw.” So he led his friend to the dark quiet of the apprentice’s den and settled down in his nest. Firepaw pressed against him and purred in an attempt to comfort him. Graypaw sighed quietly and buried his muzzle in his paws, drifting quickly to sleep. Firepaw closed his eyes and murmured aloud, “Redtail was a good cat, Ashura may you guide him to those he’s lost and may you not lead any more of us for a while longer yet.” 

Firepaw mused on Redtail for a little while longer, drifting off mid-thought.

\---

Firepaw pounced onto the unsuspecting squirrel. He shook his coat and hauled it over to his present pile. Two moons had passed since Redtail’s burial and the clan had slowly returned to a semblance of normalcy. Lionheart (who had been named deputy in Redtail’s stead) had doubled down on maintaining the boundary between Thunderclan and Riverclan. Bluestar had trained Firepaw into the mud, teaching him new hunting techniques and tricks.

She had literally thrown him into a puddle of mud before sending him on his first solo hunting mission. After washing his coat in a stream, he’d gone right after, then went right onto his task. He’d been a member of Thunderclan for a while now- four moons. He’d grown close to the cats that made them up.

Or at least, the ones who let him. 

The apprentices didn’t seem to mind him, but most of the cats still placed a great distance between them. No matter how hard he tried, there were still looks of disdain and judgment. Firepaw had laid in his nest some nights wondering if they’d ever believe him to be more than his foreign roots. Those doubts always lurked in the back of his head, whispering to him in the dark of his nights. The sting was soothed when he remembered the warrior code.

“A true warrior rejects the soft and comfortable life of a kittypet,” he muttered, sitting down. “Not every member of the Kingdom has an easy life.”

Firepaw shook his head, standing again. Not everyone was like that- besides, he still had to work through his own preconceptions of clan life. It’s so different from the Kingdom but no less organized nor are they any less civilized. Thanks to his father’s stories of the brave warriors who lived on the Endless Plain (“Windclan,” he realized now) his own preconceptions were closer to hero-worship rather than looking down on them. Now that he met them, he was fighting the image of them being rude and violent cats who attacked everyone, or just normal cats who did dumb things sometimes.

He snorted. Having gotten to know Graypaw, it was the latter.

Firepaw added the squirrel to his stash and stretched. His haul already comprised two mice and a vole, despite Lionheart only requiring three catches. But if he wanted the clan to see his skills, he’d have to show his best side. So he turned ‘three catches’ into ‘as many as you can reliably carry in two trips or less.’ 

Stash buried, he strode upstream. A rustling noise caught his attention and zeroed in. His eyes narrowed, and he found a vole drinking a little further down. He dropped into a crouch and started slowly stalking it. He tensed, ready to pounce, absently catching the sound of steady movement on the cusp of his hearing. The vole however straightened up at the sound and started to run. Firepaw panicked and launched himself at it. It slipped through his claws, disappearing into the underbrush. The apprentice snarled in anger and whirled around to face the rapidly approaching creature. The second it broke from the bushes, Firepaw channeled his frustration into a forceful tackle.

He pinned the startled beast to the ground, baring his teeth when he finally recognized the furball beneath him. 

“Ravenpaw?” Firepaw yelped.

“Ambush!” the black tom panicked and launched a slash at his chest.

Firepaw dodged backward only for Ravenpaw to get a good swipe at his cheek. “Hey! Ravenpaw, it’s just me!”

The dark-furred tom glared before recognition flooded his eyes. “F-Firepaw? Why'd you attack me?”

“You made so much noise, I thought you were a dog or a fox,” he said.

“And you still attacked?!”

“You chased off my catch.”

“You’re crazy.”

Firepaw laughed and trotted over, nudging his friend. Ravenpaw stumbled a little and before shoving him back, purring. They shoved each other back and forth before Ravenpaw knocked Firepaw over entirely. This resulted in Ravenpaw being tackled and a playful wrestling match breaking out between them. Finally, dark tom leaped free with one last playful bat to Firepaw’s muzzle.

“Why are you all the way out here, anyway?”

“I’m heading to the Windclan border,” said Ravenpaw.

“Right, no one’s seen whisker, or claw of Windclan in moons right?”

“Since the last Gathering. So Larkwing and I are heading out to see if we can catch a patrol and if not, we’re going right to Windclan’s camp to see what’s wrong,” the lanky tom explained. “An apprentice doesn’t go to things this important usually but Larkwing can’t go alone without Thunderclan looking weak and the others are busy.”

“Thunderclan needs numbers,” Firepaw mumbled.

“Yeah,” Ravenpaw mumbled.

That was one of the first things Firepaw had realized. Compared to how the other clans are described, Thunderclan was tiny. With few mentors and fewer apprentices for them, the clan was at a disadvantage when it came to being able to defend themselves. It thrilled no one with him joining, but no one will turn away an extra set of paws.

Ravenpaw shook his head, “I can’t stay for long but I can help you catch something to make up for what you missed.”

He grinned and leaped over Firepaw, taking off towards the treeline. His fellow apprentice raced after him, laughing. They trampled over the grass, weaving through the trees and clearing logs. Bark raced by him and rocks nearly tripped him up a few times. He knew he’d have a hard time finding anything later, but he didn’t care very much.

When they broke from the trees, they skid to a halt, panting for air with breathless grins on their faces. Firepaw opened his mouth to say something, only to sneeze when the powerful scent of pine needles flooded his nose.

“The Shadowclan border,” puffed Ravenpaw. “We’ve run really far.”

“Yeah,” said Firepaw.

“Well, I have to get to the Windclan border with Larkwing now,” Ravenpaw said. “Sorry about your catch.”

“It’s fine, racing was fun,” Firepaw said.

The lanky tom purred and sauntered deeper into Thunderclan territory. Firepaw shook out his coat and took a diagonal route back in- just one last catch. Which was good because he was getting hungry.

\---

Firepaw plopped his rabbit atop the mound that covered his stash. He’d circled back around and managed to pick it up alongside an unfortunate robin that had been pecking at a worm. With such a large haul caught by himself. They’d have to see his work ethic. 

His life as a Prince had saved his tail. When they were younger, his mother used to make all of his brothers and sisters wait until every cat was served and the adults had finished eating. She’d said that it was to teach them respect and patience, but Reed had convinced Firepaw it was a punishment as a kit.

Now, carrying a mouthful of prey and not being allowed to eat it, Firepaw knew the true definition of punishment.

He settled down with the smell of rabbit in his nose, trying to convince his tired paws to keep moving back to the camp.

Something slamming into his side and knocking him over and interrupted his rest. A startled cry of shock escaped him as teeth sank into his neck. The smell of rot and illness rolled from his attacker and the scent of pine needles invaded his nose.

‘Shadowclan!’ he decided, panicked.

“This must’ve been a young apprentice. Easy prey for Yellowfang," the molly declared arrogantly.

‘She’s starving,’ Firepaw realized. No cat ever eats another cat. Maybe the forest cats were considered rude and violent, but the assumption was that they mangled the bodies of trespassers until there was nothing left.

’ Are all Shadowclan warriors this starved?’

Her teeth came back, reminding him of his position. He surged up like Bluestar taught him, sending the Shadowclan warrior stumbling back in surprise. Firepaw took advantage of the space he had to get into a better position. Yellowfang growled and extended her claws, a white glow coating them.

Confusion filled his mind, but Firepaw elected to avoid the attack at all costs. She launched herself at him and Firepaw slid out of the way of her attack, staring in muted horror at the deep gouge marks in a tree from the strike of her claws.

‘Ūshūru’s coat of flames what is  _ that _ ?!’

The gray molly looked up and bared broken yellow teeth, and he barely avoided coughing as the smell of sickness became so much more potent. He attempted to tackle her claws out and was smacked into a tree for his troubles. He was too slow to dodge her teeth meeting mark in his tail and he yowled in pain whirling to clamp onto her hind leg. She released his tail and swiped at his face and he jumped back in a panic; the rock coming to the forefront of his mind.

Firepaw’s blood pounded in his ears and rushed through his veins. He knew how the Guardians felt when they defended the Kingdom now as he seemed stronger than ever. The thought of Guardians made him grimace as he processed how matted and tangled her coat was. He took a step back in uncertainty. The entire picture overcame him, and a feeling of pity entered his heart. This is the kind of cat he would be expected to treat with kindness back in the Rising Sun- injured and in need of healing. Her body tensed and he prepared himself for another attack only to watch her collapse on the ground as her leg gave out.

Firepaw watched her pant on the ground, her energy spent. He stared in silence and managed to even pick out a few ribs beneath her matted gray pelt. He sighed to himself and accepted that he wasn’t meant to have that last piece of prey.

“You gonna finish me off kitty?’ the molly demanded. He winced at being referred to as ‘kitty’ but some cats spat it at his back or said it under their breath so he was more or less desensitized to it.

“Wow,” she burst out. “Is Thunderclan so weak and desperate they’re going around bringing kittypets into their clan?”

“I am an apprentice of Thunderclan,” Firepaw responded.

“Then act like one and finish me off,” she heckled.

Firepaw rolled his eyes at the pitiful creature before him. Killing her, he knew, wouldn’t be a victory. It would make him look weak that he could only beat a cat who’s ill and already started on her way to Ashura’s domain. He grabbed the rabbit near his paws and threw it at her. She stared at him in a dumbfounded fashion for several moments.

“Look,” he began with an impatient tone. “If you don’t want it, my clan could use it so-”

  
  


“No!” she said hastily, dragging it closer. “I do want it.”

Firepaw motioned to her with his ears in a ‘then eat’ sort of way.

He watched her swallow the prey as if it would come back to life and run away. He sighed at the bad manners but kept himself from commenting like his mother would. She was starving. Yellowfang finished her rabbit and started cleaning her pelt. Firepaw stifled the part of him that wanted to snort and remark that she’d near more than just one wash to clean the matted mess that was her coat. 

“Are you done?” he asked as politely and he could muster.

“No,” she said and continued washing.

“Too bad,” Firepaw remarked as he smelled an approaching patrol. “Times up.”

Yellowfang’s head shot up, and she tasted the air, seeming to catch the scent of the Thunderclan cats approaching. Firepaw watched feeling vaguely amused as she tried to stagger away only to flop over as he expected. The Thunderclan patrol was very close now and so Firepaw set to digging up his catches while listening to the Shadowclan molly swearing and cursing every star in the sky.

Firepaw turned around when the bushes rustled and came face to face with Bluestar. Tigerclaw, Darkstripe, and Graypaw were also a part of the patrol, staring at him as if he had just committed a cardinal sin. He felt the slightest pang of anxiety because he fed an enemy warrior before Thunderclan but, well he’d overachieved the amount of prey they sent him to catch so he dismissed most of his fears and met her eyes boldly.

“What’s going on here?” the leader demanded.

The ginger tom waved his right paw, feigning a casual attitude. “She attacked me while I was on my solo mission, she’s weak and smelled sick so I gave her one rabbit I was planning to bring back for the kill pile.”

“Feeding an enemy cat before the clan-” Tigerclaw began only to be interrupted by Firepaw.

“Don’t tell me some cat has become deathly ill and starved enough to eat another cat in the time I’ve been gone,” he said in disbelief.

“Hungry enough to eat another cat?” Bluestar repeated in a skeptical voice.

Firepaw tilted his head for them to see the bite wound on his neck and twitched his ear. Then he motioned to Yellowfang. “If a cat will eat an apprentice, then clearly she needed it more than the clan.”

Bluestar’s eyes narrowed at his nonchalance but turned to Yellowfang all the same. “You’ve captured the Shadowclan medicine cat.”

“I travel on my own now,” Yellowfang retorted. “I’m no Shadowclan cat. Not anymore.”

“Good for them,” Darkstripe snorted. “You must be weak to get beaten by a new apprentice. We should just kill her and punish Firepaw for his insolence.” He directed the last part of his statement at Bluestar.

“When did Bluestar die and name you leader?” asked Firepaw. 

“Firepaw!” snapped Bluestar while Graypaw desperately tried to swallow his snickers.

“Let’s take her prisoner back to camp. Maybe there are secrets of Shadowclan we can get from her,” the molly grumbled and led the way back expectantly.

Tigerclaw and Darkstripe did not help Yellowfang as she struggled to her paws and began limping after them.

“Need help?” Firepaw asked.

He was spat at for his offer. The ginger tom rolled his eyes and grabbed as much of his haul as he could carry. Then he trotted after the patrol.


	7. Preparation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How do we feel about filler chapter mates

**Chapter 6: Preparation**

“Oh come on Firepaw, it’s not so bad.”

“Hmph.”

Firepaw sat together with the other apprentices at their stump. He snatched a snack from the fresh-kill pile (most of which is from his solo mission), he sourly chewed his squirrel, frustrated. This was the single most unfair thing to happen to him. Sure he’d been mouthy to Darkstripe and okay, he could have been more polite to Bluestar. But to force him to watch the cranky matted furred molly for an undisclosed amount of time? He felt Bluestar was overdoing it.

“Well, next time you shouldn’t ask who died,” Sandpaw said.

“It was a joke,” Firepaw said, huffing. “Coral and I made jokes like that all the time.”

“Well you could then, but you’re not in the Kingdom anymore,” said Sandpaw.

“Good point,” he admitted. “Doesn’t mean I have to like it. Coral probably does more fun things.”

“Who is Coral?” Dustpaw demanded.

“His sister, she’s super pretty,” Graypaw input.

“Yeah, my sis- did you just call her pretty?”

“She is really pretty,” Ravenpaw said.

“... I’ll be watching you if we meet with her,” Firepaw decided. “Anyway, she’s a Guardian, so she does cool things.”

“So what does a Guardian do?” asked Dustpaw.

“They’re like warriors really, but they only tend to handle cats who really break the law,” Firepaw said. “Like invading generals.”

“Speaking of invasions, what do you think about Shadowclan in Windclan territory?” asked Graypaw.

“Ravenpaw, how bad was it?” Said Sandpaw.

“Awful,” reported the tom wrinkling his nose. “The whole place reeked of Shadowclan. Their stench was everywhere. It touched everything.“

“And Windclan?” Firepaw prompted.

“Not even a whisker. No matter how deep into Windclan territory we went, we only smelled Shadowclan.”

“If they really chased out Windclan, then they might aim for other clans next,” Firepaw noted, remembering his lessons. “This sounds like expansion- a power play.”

“What I want to know is how all those cats were chased away without blood,” Sandpaw said. “A battle without blood?”

“No way Windclan would leave without a fight,” agreed Dustpaw. “Tallstar would fight until he lost a life.”

Graypaw nodded, “Windclan isn’t weak so Shadowclan must have something we don’t.”

“We should be prepared for double time,” said Sandpaw. “I for one won’t let Shadowclan drive us out.”

“I’d like to see them try,” said Firepaw scoffed. “They might be the only cats who can start to deal with the brambles.”

“Not looking forward to extended patrols,” Graypaw groaned.

“On the bright side, if Shadowclan does attack, the clan will remember everyone who stops them,” Sandpaw reasoned.

“We might become warriors!” said Dustpaw, his fur bristling with excitement.

“One step closer,” corrected Ravenpaw.

Firepaw opened his mouth to contribute, only to hear an angry yowl. He glanced over and caught Yellowfang throwing up a fuss in her new nest.

“Better get to the bone bag,” Dustpaw meowed, a hint of teasing entering his voice.

“She doesn’t look happy,” Graypaw agreed. “If it looks like she’ll eat you, let me know and I’ll get her with a stiff rabbit.”

Firepaw burst into laughter with the rest of the apprentices and thanked Graypaw for his offered protection before making his way over to Yellowfang. Spotting him she started screeching louder. Firepaw’s eyes narrowed and he deliberately slowed his pace towards her. He ignored the jeers from Longtail as he passed by him focusing on Yellowfang who slowly realized Firepaw wouldn’t take being screeched at.

She yowled even louder at him.

“Don’t you come near me.” she snarled.

Her nest was located within view of the warrior’s den and near the elder’s den. Sheltered from the rain but still close enough for the warriors to catch her if she tried anything. Smart on behalf of the clan but that meant she had something to prove and an audience to prove it to. He sighed and pressed her.

“Is there anything you need?” he asked her, keeping his exhaustion from his voice.

“Are you a kittypet?” she asked ignoring his question.

“I’m from the Kingdom but now I’m an apprentice of Thunderclan,” he said wearily.

“Your mother and father are Kittypets?”

“All of my family are from the Kingdoms.”

“Humiliating,” she grumbled. “Fussed over by a kittypet.”

Something in him snapped. Maybe he was just tired but the designation of ‘kittypet’ yet again seemed to trigger something within him.

“Look, I don’t want to be doing this any more than you want me to. But guess what? I’m not the leader and neither are you. I don’t know what it is about you clan cats that makes you assume that Kingdom cats are defenseless little mice but I’m more than willing to show you we’re not, so lay down and answer my question you spiteful old bag of bones and fleas,” he snapped.

Yellowfang stared at him. Then she ducked her head and started making a sort of coughing or wheezing noise. Firepaw blinked. Was she choking? She was old after all. It took him a minute to realize that she was laughing. His ear twitched in confusion.

“Ah,” she sighed. “You’ve got spirit kitty. More than I see from some cats. Go ask your pretty medicine cat for some poppy seeds and goldenrod.”

Firepaw’s whiskers twitched and he chuckled. He turned and trotted off to Spottedleaf’s den. The pretty mollie had been a little on the downside that last three moons. The clan had been giving her the space and time to get over Redtail. Dustpaw and Sandpaw were often seen around her having buddied up, the three of them likely bonding over memories of Redtail. Even as she greeted him in the entryway of the den, he could still see some sadness clinging to her. His heart clenched once more thinking about losing Coral and decided to make the visit as short as possible so he didn’t bother her. Sandpaw and Dustpaw were on the path to recovery but Spottedleaf was still struggling through each day.

“Hi,” he greeted. “Yellowfang wants poppy seeds and marigold.”

Spottedleaf gave him a tired smile and nodded going to retrieve the herbs he asked for. She came back and shook out the seeds from a dried poppy and pushed some over to him.

“Tell Yellowfang to be careful with them. A little pain can help me keep track of her progress,” she said.

“Okay,” Firepaw agreed and hobbled out on three paws balancing the poppy seeds on his pad. He pushed on giving Yellowfang her herbs and then delivering her a mouse. 

Finally, the events of the day caught up to him and he stretched with exhaustion rushing through his body. 

Staggering into his den he trotted over to Graypaw and Ravenpaw who shifted over leaving space for him. He flopped down between his friends and purred when they pressed a little closer and fell asleep feeling warm.

\---

“Here,” Firepaw meowed, dropping the mouse in front of her.

“Thanks, kitty,” she smirked and started gulping it down.

Firepaw rolled his eyes fondly. ‘Kitty’ had quickly established itself as a nickname that would never fade from her vocabulary. It had annoyed him, to begin with but once a few days had passed it grew on him. He prodded her moss noting that it was a little damp frowning.

“Maybe we should move your nest,” he muttered. “That water can’t be good for your old bones.”

Yellowfang glanced at him for the ‘old’ comment and went on to groom her pelt. He started shifting her nest the slightest bit over under an overstretched ledge while the kits played near them. He laughed watching one of the mollies loudly claim herself to be Bluestar.

“Fear my claws Brokenstar!” she announced and batted one of her siblings into Yellowfang.

The mollie leaped up as if she’d been struck backing away from the kit growling, “Watch it!” she snarled. The tiny kits scampered away with the nearby queens shooting her a glare that she ignored.

“The kits are getting restless,” he observed neutrally.

“I don’t care about ‘em,” she grumbled. “Just keep them away from me.”

“Did you have any kits?” he asked.

“Medicine cats can’t have kits,” she snapped at him.

“Yeah but you were a warrior first,” he reminded her. “Did you have kits before?”

“No I don’t have any,” she growled. She seemed to lose her attitude and a twinge of pain entered his eyes. “Accidents always seem to happen to them when I’m around.”

Firepaw didn’t know how to respond to the sad mood. This was so unlike the way she was, other days she just teased him and they talked about camp for a bit. There was a story there behind her eyes but he wasn’t certain he was permitted to see that just yet. He started to comfort her but he grimaced, what should he say? He settles with resting his tail over her front paws. That seemed to shake her from her mood.

“I’m itchin my fur off, go bother your pretty little medicine cat for some mouse bile,” Yellowfang snapped.

Firepaw purred with relief prickling beneath his pelt. There’s the Yellowfang he knew.

“Alright  _ ulso _ .“

He sprinted away not registering until he was once more in Spottedleaf’s den and had asked for mouse bile, what he’d called her.

“Oops,” he murmured. He’d just pretend it didn’t slip out when she asked.

Spottedleaf was already pulling out a small pouch made of leaves containing a liquid that smelled absolutely vile with a ball of moss. She laughed at his wrinkled nose and disgusted expression. He spied some other herbs bunched together in different sets. He started to investigate until the medicine cat regained his attention with a flick of her tail.

“Here,” she meowed. “Dab this on the fleas to get rid of them. When you’re done, wash it off in a stream. Many an apprentice’s suffering comes from being too lazy to walk to a stream.”

“Okay, I will,” Firepaw promised. He gagged at the smell of the mouse bile and thanked both Ūshūrū and Ashura dearly he didn’t have to carry moss soaked in the wretched substance in his mouth. Carrying both carefully, he trotted outside watching a patrol come back in.

An exhausted looking Sandpaw walked into camp with Whitestorm and Buzzardback. The second they were fully inside, the second patrol that was Mousefur, Longtail (Dustpaw’s new mentor) and Dustpaw replaced them.

Firepaw shot Sandpaw a look of sympathy. She’d been right. With Shadowclan skulking around, they hardly had time to rest anymore. He started on Yellowfang’s fleas noting the reinforced bramble barriers on all of the dens and the spare fresh-kill pile. Bluestar had been serious about not being chased from their home and he felt an overwhelming roar of approval from within.

Firepaw might have a few problems with the clan but they were his clan now, and he’d fight to have to deal with those problems.

“I think that’s the last one kitty,” Yellowfang said. “Go do whatever it is you apprentices do nowadays.”

Firepaw nodded bidding her goodbye and making an instant beeline for the camp entrance.

“Where are you off to?” A voice called out to him.

The ginger tom glanced up and was met with Halftail giving him a look.

“I was clearing Yellowfang’s fleas,” he answered.

“Ah, so you’re off to the nearest body of water huh? Runoff then, but bring some prey back with you so we can finish up the stash,” the older cat said sharply.

Firepaw nodded and bounded off veering quickly into Thunderclan territory. He didn’t hesitate to leap into the shallow water and scrub his paws against a rock trying to rid himself of the smell. 

“Firepaw?”

He looked up shivering from the cold water meeting the baffled faces of Graypaw and Ravenpaw staring down at him from the top of a higher ground.

“Mouse bile,” he said simply.

Both toms grimaced.

“Oh good, thought you were trying to become a fish,” Graypaw teased.

“Maybe I should, my paws would hurt less,” Firepaw joked back. “Everyone is acting like we’ll be attacked at any minute.”

“Who says we won’t be?” Ravenpaw asked he scanned the area around them swishing his tail.

“If they do, we’ll send their raggedy pine stained pelts running back where they came from,” Graypaw said puffing out his chest.

Firepaw rolled his eyes and Ravenpaw laughed, relaxing a little at Graypaw’s familiar overconfidence.

“Come with us,” Graypaw suggested. “You were told not to come back without prey too right?”

“Not those exact words but yes,” said Firepaw. 

The three apprentices trotted off with their goal in mind.

\---

Firepaw sat around the apprentice’s stump, lounging with Graypaw and Ravenpaw chattering back and forth at each other. When the three of them had come loping into camp with a mouthful of prey and still had to fetch another mouthful each, the warriors had praised them all. Lionheart even gave them the pleasure of choosing one of the larger pieces from the fresh-kill pile first.

“Hey,” Graypaw meowed looking up from his squirrel. “Ravenpaw by Lionclan’s will squeezed a compliment out of Tigerclaw today.”

Firepaw whipped his head around to look at the shy tom. 

“What in Ūshūrū’s pelt of flames did you do to make Tigerclaw happy? Sprout wings and fly?” the ginger tom asked his mouth falling open.

Ravenpaw’s ears twitched with embarrassment and shuffled his paws in a bashful manner.

“I caught a crow,” he said with a hint of pride.

“Even Tigerclaw couldn’t find anything wrong with it- it was huge,” Graypaw boasted for his friend.

“I think the crow was old,” Ravenpaw confessed.

“You still caught it,” Firepaw said, nudging him.

“I was terrified when Larkwing made me practice with him,” the dark tom said.

“To be fair-“ Graypaw licked his paw and resettled. “Tigerclaw’s been on edge since Redtail died. Thunderclan means everything to him.”

“He must be so stressed out,” Firepaw said, shaking his head.

“Riverclan must be having a hard time too, Oakheart died too,” Ravenpaw pointed out.

“And with Shadowclan pushing everyone-,” Graypaw growled. “No one has time to relax.”

“If Shadowclan would just calm down-“ Firepaw started only to be interrupted by a loud yowl from Yellowfang’s nest.

“Tongues of dying rats, I forgot to take Yellowfang her share!” he groaned.

He clambered to his paws and scampered over and grabbed a pair of mice readying to head over.

“I can take them to her,” Graypaw offered. “Give you a break.”

“No thanks, someone might see and what happens then?”

“I can be really sneaky,” Graypaw bartered.

The ginger tom hesitated. “If you’re sure…”

“I’m sure,” Graypaw said confidently, taking the mice from him.

Firepaw slumped back into a sitting position before stiffening up when Darkstripe seemed to materialize and strode towards the younger tom, stopping him in his tracks.

“That’s a lot for one cat Graypaw,” the bristled tom said. “You’re not doing Firepaw’s punishment for him are you?”

“No,” the smaller tom said quickly. “I’m uh, bringing them to Spottedleaf. Yeah, she’s been busy lately so I’ll just take these..”

Darkstripe watched the gray apprenticed veer and spring to Spottedleaf’s den with prey. He grunted and shot Firepaw a sneer and stalked off. Firepaw sighed feeling relieved for Graypaw’s quick thinking. Then another screech from Yellowfang had him springing to his paws grabbing a rabbit.


	8. Assessment

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Double update? Yup.

**Chapter 7: Assessment**

Firepaw awoke stretching, then grimaced. His fur was damp with water from the late rain, and he shivered. Mentally, he complained about the hole in the roof and told himself if no one else patched it, he would. He shook his coat, ignoring the complaints from Dustpaw attempting to nap as he was sprayed with stray droplets of water. Then he padded out, stopping in a band of light, purring as his muscles warmed. He waited in sunlight for a second before padding on towards the fresh-kill pile. 

He grabbed a mouse from the top and ate quickly by the apprentice’s stump. If his coat had been damp while he’d been in the safety of the apprentice den, then Yellowfang would have gotten soaked in the downpour. Finishing his food, he grabbed the dryest rabbit he could find and carried it over to her.

“Ras-Akūp,” he told her lightly and set to picking fleas.

Yellowfang seemed startled if intrigued by his greeting (or she was sleepy) because she just grunted. Firepaw rolled his eyes and did his best to pick out the worst of the itchy bugs before he spoke again.

“You should move your nest closer to the nursery. It’s drier,” he meowed.

“I don’t want to be kept up all night by squealing kits,” the molly grumbled. Firepaw sighed at her stubborn nature.

“Old cats,” he said under his breath. “Fine, I’ll go fetch you some dry bedding then.”

“Thank you, Firepaw,” she said, sighing deeply.

Somewhat disturbed by this, he nodded at her and turned to sprint off. He almost rammed right into the cat behind him before he skidded to a halt.

“Firepaw,” Bluestar greeted.

He straightened up seeing his leader and his whiskers twitched curiously.

“Hello Bluestar,” he said respectfully. “I was just looking after Yellowfang.”

“I can see,” she responded. “I’m glad to see you taking your duties seriously and your punishment gracefully.”

Firepaw remembered his initial reaction and made a note to thank Dustpaw and Sandpaw for keeping their muzzles shut.

“I’m going to have another cat look after Yellowfang for the being, as for you, it’s time for an assessment of your skills.”

The flame-colored tom perked up, all but dancing on his paws in anticipation. The silvery leader continued, albeit with an amused twinge in her voice that said she could see his excitement.

“Tigerclaw will be waiting for you at the camp entrance. You better hurry along.”

The green-eyed apprentice nodded, bidding a hasty goodbye to Bluestar and Yellowfang. He bounded off to Yellowfang’s lazy call of, “Good luck kitty.”

He slipped through the camp entrance and came nose to nose with a startled Ravenpaw who yelped and sprung a tail length backward. Ravenpaw tumbled head on tail and lay panting in alarm on the ground. Graypaw burst into loud laughter as the black-coated tom flattened his ears and turned away in embarrassment. He licked his chest self-consciously as Firepaw gave a soft laugh.

“Hello to you too Ravenpaw,” he teased. “I see you’ve achieved flight while I was gone.”

The black tom licked the ruffled fur on his chest giving the ginger cat a shy, indignant expression. “I haven’t- I haven’t learned to fly.”

“Could’ve fooled me,” Graypaw teased lightly. “You’ve been so antsy lately- you might as well be soaring.”

Ravenpaw huffed and started to respond only for a cracking noise to be heard. Training kicked in and the three apprentices fell into defensive positions ready to fight. Then they caught the scent of Thunderclan and straightened up as Tigerclaw strode commandingly out of the trees.

“At least you aren’t completely worthless,” the dark tabby growled.

Firepaw frowned when he spotted Ravenpaw deflating. He did that a lot around the dark tabby. He knew Tigerclaw was stressed but would it kill him to compliment Ravenpaw, just once? Why was he so hard on a cat that’s not even his apprentice?

He snapped back to attention upon hearing Tigerclaw start handing out orders.

“This will be a hunting assessment. You’ll be split apart on your own to show how much you’ve learned. I’ll be judging your skills but you won’t see me.”

‘That’s not creepy at all,’ Firepaw thought even his thoughts flooded with sarcasm.

“Ravenpaw,” he snapped, making the tom shiver and straighten up. “You’re to hunt in Snakerocks. That should be easy enough for your pitiful skills.”

The black-furred tom whimpered softly only nodding to accept his goal. Firepaw and Graypaw exchanged a baffled expression but kept their mouths shut.

“Graypaw, you’re hunting down by the stream along the Thunderpath,” the dark tabby informed.

“Wet paws,” the gray tom grumbled. “Great, just call me a Fishpaw”

The older tom glowered at him and the apprentice fell silent.

His eyes slid over, “Firepaw. You’re to take Tallpines near twolegplace, all of you return here at sunhigh. And remember, I’ll be watching you.”

The dark tom slunk off into the woods. 

“Well that was creepy,” Firepaw drawled to lighten the mood. “Everything that just happened is exactly what my mother told me to avoid.”

Immediately Graypaw snickered and Ravenpaw grinned a little at his remark. The three apprentices joked a little longer before they split up. The black tom peeled off to head for Snakerocks and Firepaw walked a little longer with Graypaw.

“I know we joked about Ravenpaw flying, but Tigerclaw can’t really believe dodging adders is easier than being in a stream right?” Firepaw asked aloud.

“He pushes him too hard,” Graypaw agreed. “Ravenpaw’s chasing his tail trying to please Tigerclaw- he’s always busy with Tigerclaw’s commands, it’s almost like Tigerclaw’s his mentor.”

“Maybe he’ll lighten up when Ravenpaw passes this assessment easy,” Firepaw mused.

“I hope so, for Ravenpaw’s sake if nothing else,” the other tom murmured.

\---

Firepaw was on a roll.

After splitting up with Graypaw, he’d sped all the way to his assigned grounds. It hadn’t taken him long to find a mouse, and it took even less time to catch it. He couldn’t believe there was a time where he didn’t know the basics of hunting. Since then, he’d caught a squirrel. All he needed was one last catch to prove himself and finish the assignment.

He was just about ready to turn around and try closer to the inner part of the territory when a foreign scent caught his nose. He bristled and waited before hearing the crackling of twigs that revealed his target.

He took off, startling his target. He snapped his teeth into the air next to the cat’s ear and watched it flinch. It backed away fearfully, and Firepaw felt like he was missing something. The tom shook with terror in its eyes as it stared up at him, fluffy black and white coat bushed out.

Firepaw abruptly felt very stupid.

“Smudge?” He asked cautiously.

The now smaller tom pressed against the tree behind him.

“How do you know my name?” He asked while trembling. 

“It’s me,” the apprentice said. “Rusty.”

“Your Highness?” The nervous tom asked.

“You know I hate being called that,” Firepaw said with a sigh. “They call me Firepaw now.”

“You’re alive!” The tom yowled with joy. “We thought Coral was having us on when she said she caught a flash of you! You look stronger!”

“Thunderclan has made me very powerful,” the ginger tom agreed. “I could spar with Coral now.”

“That’s what you think,” the other cat shot back playfully. “She’s dangerous now, you wild cats better watch out! She’ll tear your tail right off!”

Firepaw laughed feeling affection well up inside of him and he settled beside the tom who was an honorary littermate of his. They shared tongues, catching each other up on the things in their lives. It felt good, he admitted, to talk about Kingdom things- hearing about how his friend had lived on when he left made him relax.

“So is the forest everything you thought it’d be?” Smudge said, cocking his head.

“It’s amazing,” Firepaw said, with a smile. “They’re so different from us, but it’s so beautiful.”

“I’m glad,” Smudge said, leaning over to nudge him. “You haven’t been this relaxed since you first started your duties.”

“It’s hard but being a member of the clans feels easier than being a Prince,” Firepaw said.

Smudge nuzzled him one last time, saying, “I’m glad you’re happy Firepaw. I’ve got to get home though- don’t think everyone here is as friendly as you are.”

“You’re right about that,” Firepaw said, waving his tail. “Goodbye Smudge.”

“Goodbye Firepaw.”

Firepaw watched his old friend wander off, disappearing into the bushes. He thought about all the duties he was responsible for in the Kingdom as a Prince. He had to deal with awful remarks but no one had gone as far as to sabotage him and- most of them had even begun to respect him. A few had even apologized for their comments and even more, he had friends. Not that Smudge and Coral weren’t his friends but Coral was his sister and Smudge still placed the distance of royalty between them. He never would’ve been satisfied with the pressure-filled lonely life of a Prince.

In a feat he hadn’t performed since he left his home, he charged at a tree and sprung backflipping off with a cheer that sent a few birds fleeing.

Now all he had to do was get Tigerclaw not to be a grumpy tailhole and he’d be set.

\---

Firepaw was the first one back.

Tigerclaw eyes him with his usual stern ‘I was stung directly in the tail’ expression as Firepaw dropped his first catch load of two mice and a squirrel. He didn’t acknowledge the maroon tabby and sprinted off to grab the two voles he’d managed to surprise on the way back. When he returned, Graypaw was sitting proudly by a stache of two finches and a mouse.

“Nice catch,” Graypaw said, nodding Firepaw’s pile.

“Thanks, how long have you been back?”

“Not long, haven’t seen Ravenpaw though so I’m starting to get worried- what if he got bitten?”

“Then it’ll be his own fault,” interjected Tigerclaw. “Shadowclan could be lurking anywhere. Thunderclan can’t afford to waste time mentoring talentless idiots.”

Firepaw scowled, Tigerclaw needed to loosen up. Being from a place where family was everything, Firepaw can’t understand why he was so harsh on Ravenpaw. Clans are family- everyone is family. The way Tigerclaw is so strict with Ravenpaw made Firepaw wonder if Larkwing was aware of how the broad-shouldered tabby treated his apprentice. He went to respond and was interrupted by Graypaw’s excited call of, “Look its Ravenpaw!”

“What’s in his mouth?” Firepaw said, tilting his head at the strange dangling shape. When the tom was closer, Firepaw managed to decipher an olive-colored back with bands running down its back. “No way!”

Ravenpaw dropped the adder and sauntered off. He returned mere moments later with a mouse and a vole with his head and tail held high. He pointedly turned his back to Tigerclaw showing off his catches to his friends.

“Did it bite you?” Graypaw said with his whiskers twitching in awe.

“I was too fast for it,” Ravenpaw said. “It tried and next thing it knew it was fresh-kill.”

“That’s so cool Ravenpaw,” said Firepaw, giving him a light shove.

“If you’re done,” Tigerclaw said with narrowed eyes. He eyed to adder and gave Ravenpaw an almost unnoticeable nod but didn’t acknowledge him any further.

Ravenpaw slumped in defeat and picked up his adder trailing after Tigerclaw. Firepaw and Graypaw exchanged a glance looking at the flattened ears of their friend as his tail dragged through the dirt. They grabbed their own catches and saddled up to Ravenpaw and pressed against him to make him stop. Graypaw dropped his prey to mutter, “We think you’re great.”

Ravenpaw sent them a tiny smile and they continued back to camp.

\---

Firepaw rolled on his back in the camp.

They’d returned from camp and dropped their prey onto the fresh-kill pile before proceeding to lounge, stretching out by the tree stump. Tigerclaw then trotted over to the leader’s den, a hole inside of a large fallen tree trunk with bushes and smaller trees sprouting from within and around the softwood.

The three apprentices had proudly arranged the adder Ravenpaw caught (earning the black tom approving looks and praise) on top of the stump to be seen from all angles.

“The Gathering is tomorrow,” said Firepaw. “Who do you think is going?”

“Medicine cats always go so Spottedleaf is coming,” Graypaw said, flicking his ear.

“Lionheart will come- deputy duties,” Ravenpaw mused. 

“So will Tigerclaw and maybe Buzzardback- Thunderclan can’t afford to look weak,” Firepaw said. “Not with Shadowclan being suspicious. We’ll need to look strong and unaffected.”

“You’re right.”

Firepaw blinked. What did Bluestar want with him? He shrugged it off and started off towards the hole in the log. He stopped at the entrance before leaping up onto the edge of the opening peering in. The cavern was larger than he’d previously assumed. Firepaw estimated there was enough room for the warrior’s den to move in if they wanted. Seeing the extra nests scattered within, he assumed the space was so that the leader could sleep not just by themselves but with their kin too.

“Firepaw? Come in.”

The tom dropped in landing on the soft mossy dirt coated floor and padded towards the back of the den where a stream of light shone onto a single smooth rock. Bluestar was laying on it soaking in the sunlight. Firepaw also noted the small hollow in the ground where stream water had collected inside the den and he decided that leaders had it good.

The Thunderclan leader dropped from the rock, her tail swaying lazily and she nodded towards a space before her silently commanding him to sit. He did as she asked.

“Have you eaten?” she asked.

“No,” he said because he’d flopped down the second they returned to camp.

The leader walked over and grabbed a mouse and squirrel, dropping the mouse in front of him, she started on the squirrel. Firepaw stared for a second before sending a quick prayer to Urushu and started in on the mouse. He was halfway through when Bluestar elected to begin speaking.

“Tigerclaw reported you three did well. You were very skilled in all of your catches. Something he said concerns me, however. He said you came across another kittypet, originally you fought and chased it but ended up sharing tongues.”

Firepaw swallowed his mouthful and explained, “That was Smudge. He’s an old friend of mine- really formal but it was nice to see him again.”

Bluestar seemed to think for a moment before sighing.

“Firepaw, you’re a smart cat,” she began. “You can see our numbers are low.”

“You’re undermanned,” agreed Firepaw.

Bluestar nodded, “Answer me honestly Firepaw- was I blinded by my need for warriors when I asked you to join us? Are you happy here?”

Firepaw felt a stab of insult and hurt by her conclusion that he’d leave. He thought it was clear he enjoyed it here in Thunderclan. Then he noticed the way her ears dropped a little and her body seemed heavy and it occurred to him that Bluestar always seemed to be busy. He tried to think about her responsibilities and duties as a leader. Then he remembered his duties as a Prince. He thought about his exhaustion ad his lack of free time so. The fact he had little friends and even less fun. 

“...seeing Smudge helped me realize I’d never have been satisfied with my life. And I am happy here. So happy even Smudge could see it. That’s what we talked about, I’m more relaxed. Freer than he’d ever known me to be.”

The battle seasoned leader scanned her eyes over him critically as if trying to decipher a hidden message in his statement. She relaxed a few moments later and Firepaw felt a hidden tension within him loosen.

“Yellowfang speaks kindly of you,” she remarked. “She is stubborn and harsh. I think I can grow to like her.”

Firepaw stared blankly before concluding that, yes, that was how he grew to care about Yellowfang as well. She was rough and stuck in her ways and somehow you realize you’d defend her from the gods themselves.

“The queens will look after her from now on,” Bluestar continued drawing his attention. “You’ve done well but now it’s time we truly focus on your warrior training again.”

Firepaw felt a shiver of anticipation lace through his body and filled him with excitement. His mind flashed back to Yellowfang’s claws scoring deep marks within the stone and he barely restrained himself from asking with kit-like wonder ‘Will I do that too.’ He straightened up with pride. Bluestar smiled at him and motioned that he could leave.

“You may leave now,” Bluestar told him.

The tom nodded and rose to his paws turning towards the entrance.

“Firepaw! You’re going to the Gathering- Ravenpaw, and Graypaw too. Send in Whitestorm if you see him.”

Firepaw grinned and trotted from the den and leaped onto the edge of the opening on the log and dropped back into the clearing, the ground feeling strangely hard after the soft and spongy ground of Bluestar’s den. Passing by the warrior’s bush he informed a sunbathing Whitestorm of Bluestar’s summons and trotted over to Graypaw and Ravenpaw waiting anxiously by the stump.

“Firepaw!” Ravenpaw yelped, scrambling to his paws. “Are you okay? Are you in trouble?”

“Tigerclaw said you were caught talking to a kittypet,” Graypaw added, his ears flattened.

“Bluestar wasn’t happy,” Firepaw admitted. “But I managed to convince her that she made the right choice to let me be in the clan. She also said we’re going to the Gathering?”

“Really?” Graypaw demanded excitedly. “Leopardclan is on our side today!”

He gave an excited surge and a stray paw sent the adder flying from its position on the tree stump. It landed on Ravenpaw who yowled with shock and batted it off. It thumped onto the ground and rolled a little until Ravenpaw replaced his prize back on the stump coiled and dangerous looking.

“Watch it,” he snapped at Graypaw.

“Afraid it’ll come back to life?” Firepaw teased sliding up to the tom. “And eat you!”

Ravenpaw rolled his eyes and batted the smaller cat on the nose lightly with his paw, “A dangerous snake, whatever will I do?”

“Nothing small apprentice, I’ll save you!” Graypaw proclaimed and tackled Firepaw. The two toms rolled furiously batted at each other before Ravenpaw joined in and caught them both by surprise it became a three-way battle.

“What about Sandpaw and Dustpaw?”

“Since we’re the apprentices going, Sandpaw and Dustpaw will be staying here,” Firepaw said.

“Ooh let me tell ‘em,” Graypaw said, dancing with excitement.

A friendly rivalry broke out between the apprentices after Firepaw’s initial adjustment into the clan. The group apprentices did their best to one-up each other in a show of competitiveness. Their determination and desire to win had paid off as even the more respected warriors were praising their work ethic and abilities. Firepaw had even heard a few kits excitedly whispering how they’d like to be as strong as he was someday.

“I’m a little surprised I’m allowed to go after getting caught talking to Smudge,” Firepaw said, twitching his ears with a sigh.

“That was bad luck,” Ravenpaw said.

“Yeah, Tigerclaw is really uptight,” Graypaw chimed.

Firepaw hummed in agreement even when something dark scraped in his stomach. He knew the tabby warrior had a harsh outlook on house cats even though Firepaw had been proving himself to the rest of the clan. And still, Tigerclaw had sent him so close to his old home, where he used to live as if to test him differently than Graypaw and Ravenpaw.

Did the tom still not believe in his loyalty to Thunderclan? Did he still think Firepaw to be a ‘soft’ kitten and send he’d be running away back to his Kingdom?

‘He’ll see it,’ Firepaw reassured himself. He settled down into his nest, his good mood from his assessment ruined. ‘Someday he’ll see it for himself.’


	9. The Gathering

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Firepaw attends to Gathering- Brokenstar breaks tradition

**Chapter 8: The Great Games**

“Are you ready for this?

“I will vibrate out of my pelt if we wait any longer.”

Graypaw laughed, watching his friend spin in the circle. Firepaw bounced about, dancing on his toes. He glanced up, lashing his tail with impatience at the sun burning high overhead. The Gathering should start soon- he paced a little more, waiting for his leader.

“I can’t believe we get to be a part of such a big Gathering,” Ravenpaw added with nervous joy.

“Me either, did you see Sandpaw’s face when she realized _we_ were going and not her?” Graypaw asked with a smirk. “Made my day!”

Firepaw remembered her face well. Frankly, he thought Graypaw was insane- Sandpaw looked like she would claw them to death. And Dustpaw had been readying himself to help her with it. Friendly rivals or not, some risks we’re not worth taking. The ginger tom shivered at the memory when Bluestar called out, “All chosen cats, to the Gathering.”

He ran out with the cats, feeling the warm sun on his coat seeping into his muscles, preparing him to show his strength to the other clans. The same urgent pace that he’d faced since joining the clans returned, it thrilled the young tom when he kept up much better this time around. Firepaw loped alongside Ravenpaw’s long strides and Graypaw’s heavy steps.

Graypaw grinned and pulled ahead, leading his friends until they were near the front of the clan. They were just behind Buzzardback and the broad-shouldered tom smirked down at the young apprentices.

“Hello young ones,” the tom greeted, as they paused to regroup.

“Hi Buzzardback,” Graypaw meowed, his voice reverent.

“Ready for your first Gathering?” The bulky tactician asked.

“I think so,” Ravenpaw mumbled with a determined glint in his eyes.

“That’s the spirit,” Lionheart chuckled before shuffling aside and allowing the apprentices to peer down into the clearing. Shimmering pelts, warm from the sunlight, moved around the open clearing with four enormous trees in the center.

“There are so many cats here!” Ravenpaw admired.

“Do you two know what the other leaders look like?” Firepaw asked.

Graypaw cocked his head before speaking up, “I know of Riverclan, Crookedstar, and Oakheart. No idea who was appointed after Oakheart, though.”

Firepaw followed his gaze to the brown tom crouched in the branches of a gigantic tree. At first, he didn’t understand the name, then he caught the way the brown tom’s jaw was slightly offset. The leader’s tongue stuck out the slightest bit and his lower tooth was visible. Then the meaning smacked him.

‘Oh,’ he mused to himself with discomfort. ‘Isn’t that name a little… cruel?’

Then he reminded himself some cats were named after prominent scars or were given names like ‘One-eye’ or ‘Halftail.’

‘Clan cats,’ Firepaw decided. ‘Get over injuries quickly.’

Ravenpaw flicked his tail drawing his attention back as the apprentice pointed out another cat in the tree branches.

“In Shadowclan it’s Brokenstar and Blackfoot,” the yellow-eyed apprentice contributed.

Firepaw strained his eyes to catch sight of the burly tom with torn ears and a kink in his tail like a snapped twig.

“Looks dangerous,” the ginger tom noted. “I’d hate to face him alone.”

“Too right,” Graypaw agreed. “I want way more training before I even cough a furball near him.”

“What about Blackfoot?” Ravenpaw asked, gesturing towards the predominantly white tom with black paws. “He looks like he’ll grab you by the tail and drop you in the fresh-kill pile.”

“Don’t be sure,” Firepaw said with an ominous smile. “For all, we know he really _will_ eat us mid-battle or something.”

“I can’t smell Windclan,” Graypaw said with a frown. “Shadowclan really must’ve chased them off.”

Firepaw opened his mouth only to be hushed by Lionheart who nodded his head towards Bluestar. 

“This will be an important Gathering. Stay on your guard with Shadowclan, but stay pleasant. We won’t let them fool themselves into thinking we fear them. The other clans may not know it, but Thunderclan is prepared and will not allow them to intimidate us!”

Firepaw felt his own resolve strengthen as the blue eyes of his leader swept across them, lingering on the apprentices. Then she turned and stepped down onto a rock and began leading her clan into the clearing, head held high.

The ginger apprentice did his best to appear as powerful as his leader with confident strides. He stifled his purr of satisfaction when Lionheart shot him an approving look for his act. Then he realized he was alone in the clearing, separated from the other apprentices.

“Graypaw!” He called out, feeling uncomfortable by himself.

“I’m right here,” the gray tom responded, pressing his pelt against his friend’s. The bulkier apprentice seemed to appear from nowhere, but Firepaw was grateful all the same for his support.

Firepaw looked through the mass of cats everywhere, pelts all slipping around each other, talking and enjoying themselves. A group of apprentices was waiting all to one side while an older pale tabby stood near the end of the clearing. He dragged his paw through the dirt and stood to one side of it.

“What’s happening over there?” Firepaw said, nodding towards the scene.

Graypaw glanced over and his eyes lit up, “An all apprentice race!”

“A race?” Firepaw said curiously.

“There are a bunch of games here, we mean the day of a Gathering to bring peace and the games are to remind us that there will be no borders in Starclan.”

Firepaw, who’d jumped and lashed at Ravenpaw’s reappearance by their sides, found himself interested in the game. Graypaw and Ravenpaw exchanged a grin and led Firepaw over to the race.

They sat at the edge near the finish next to an old tom. The seven apprentices near the start were all tense and waiting.

“Ready?” The pale tom at the end line began, “Go!”

The apprentices shot off like a rabbit seeing a fox. The surrounding cats cheered loudly as the apprentices ran with a single-minded focus for the finish line. Firepaw realized quickly the race wasn’t all about speed. A brown tom stumbled over a half-buried rock on the trail and another smacked into the ground, falling over a stray branch. 

Firepaw found himself caught up in the race, calling encouragement to all the cats as they got closer. A small, lithe gray molly with yellow eyes leaped forward and slid across the finish line with a yowl of triumph. The other apprentices crossed mere seconds later, panting but grinning all the same.

“The winner of this race is Silverpaw of Riverclan,” the referee declared. The watching cats cheered as Riverclan congratulated their apprentice.

“How many other games are there,” Firepaw asked, waving his tail. 

Graypaw and Ravenpaw smiled.

\---

Firepaw decided that this was the most fun he’s had in _moons._ He and Graypaw took part in another apprentice race that took place. The elders told stories of the most memorable battles between the clans- they even told the history of their own clans. He’d watched a sparring match between a Riverclan warrior named Tidestorm and a cat from Shadowclan named Frogleap. There was even a climbing race that Graypaw took second place in. Firepaw laughed and played with all the apprentices and as the leaders began warning cats that moonhigh was close, the intent of the games.

They really did all feel like one huge clan.

At some point, they’d split up and had agreed to sit next to get together when the Gathering started. So now Firepaw and Graypaw searched for Ravenpaw. It took a minute with other cats moving around and starting to find their own friends, but they found him with a group of other cats sitting around him.

They were leaning close to him with wide eyes and bristled fur. Some of them even had their claws extended into the ground. Ravenpaw himself was stalking back and forth in front of them with flattened ears and slow, slinking movements. 

As they came into earshot, Firepaw realized that he was telling the story of the battle against Riverclan.

‘Ravenpaw is a wonderful storyteller,’ Firepaw thought with a smile. He recognized some cats _from the battle,_ listening. Even the little silver apprentice he shoved into the brambles just seconds from leaping up like he was back at the battle.

“‘Riverclan,” Ravenpaw said, letting his body sag as if forcing himself to stand through pain, “Oakheart is _dead_! You’ve lost this battle!”

One apprentice gasped.

“I chased after them- “Thunderclan, we’ve won! Tigerclaw come with me, let’s make sure not one of them is slinking around,” Ravenpaw took a deep breath. “They started searching around, Larkwing was left in charge of making sure everyone was all right.”

The black tom made a show of dragging something in his mouth before looking up with a convincing look of despair, “There was one left. Redtail is dead. And that’s how Lionheart became a deputy.”

Ravenpaw took a bow as everyone praised his storytelling abilities. Firepaw was sure the Riverclan cats were hiding their grievances, but apprentices hardly ever see- much less take part in big battles as anything other than messengers. No matter what clan they’re in, apprentices will always want to hear first-paw battle stories.

Firepaw and Graypaw waited for the other apprentices to back away from Ravenpaw before catching up to him.

“Hey Storyteller,” Graypaw purred, nudging him. “You were awesome.”

Ravenpaw flattened his ears giving them a shy smile, “Thanks, I wasn’t that great though.”

“Not that great,” Firepaw said, rolling his eyes. “You’ll be the _best_ at telling Gathering stories when you’re old and seen everything.”

Ravenpaw squeaked and shoved him, but raised his head higher.

“Let’s get a seat near the front,” said Graypaw taking the lead.

A few moments after they sat down, there was a yowl from the top of Fourtrees.

Bluestar stepped to the front of the leaders as the deputies settled by the roots of the four enormous trees. There was murmuring as the Gathering started without Windclan but everyone fell silent, unwilling to argue with the leader. Besides, the moon was high in the sky and there was still not even a whisker from Windclan.

“Many, many seasons ago on a moonlit night like this, a horrible battle took place. Kits and sitters, littermates, and lovers all laid dead and dying on the battlefield. The leaders led them into battle and had fought in the storm- life after life was taken far before its time.”

“The leaders went to clash once more until a cat stepped between them- that cat was called Gray Wing,” Crookedstar said, taking over. “He commanded they cease their fighting and end the suffering of all the cats loyally following them to battle, the leaders agreed, ashamed of their actions and how it lead to their warriors suffering.”

He glanced at Brokenstar. There was a moment of silence as he glowered back at them. There was a murmur of malcontent from the listening clans.

“He’s not saying the Speech,” said Ravenpaw with his eyes wide with shock.

“You’ll hear the longer version from the elders at some point,” Graypaw reassured a confused Firepaw. “But not finishing the story is a _huge_ blight on the Gathering.”

Bluestar bared her teeth at Brokenstar for a quick moment then turned back to continue the tale herself, a growl of annoyance in her voice, “Gray Wing declared that the day of the full moon would be dedicated to coming together and sharing their joys and grievances as a family. Gray Wing strode to the sky, taking with him the spirits of the fallen warriors.”

Crookedstar nodded and finished the tale, “Gray Wing became the spirit of Silverpelt, now we honor the lives lost and the plead from Gray Wing to remember we are one clan.”

“If we’re done with that,” Brokenstar drawled.

Bluestar growled, her fur bristling, but kept silent, letting Blackstar speak his piece.

“Warriors of every clan,” he started. “You should now, Windclan is gone and will not be back.”

“How would you know that,” a bristling Riverclan tom with a scoff.

Brokenstar zeroed in on him and said, “I know because Shadowclan is prosperous and strong- we needed more territory for our kits. Windclan failed to understand this, so we chased them out.”

“What?” Firepaw intoned in a near whisper. Did he hear that correctly?

“You will share your territories,” Brokenstar continued. “Or we’ll chase you from your territories too- there is no need to punish Shadowclan for its success.”

Like beehive smashing to the ground, angry yowling filled the air from enraged cats.

“Argue all you want,” said Brokenstar with a fang-toothed grin. “Crookestar has already agreed to share part of Riverclan territory.”

Crookestar leveled a venomous glare at the Shadowclan leader. Firepaw winced at the blatant power play from Brokenstar as Riverclan dissolved into enraged shouting.

“Crookedstar! How could you _agree_ to this foxdung!”

“No clan has ever had to share territory!”

“Bluestar, for Lionclan’s sake, tell me you aren’t a part of this mouse brained deal!”

The last yowl came from a bristled and irate Tigerclaw, and Firepaw’s eyes snapped to his mentor once more.

‘Please Bluestar.’

“I assure you this is the first I’ve heard of this nonsense.”

“I assure you this is the first I’ve ever heard of this nonsense,” the blue-eyed leader informed.

The quiet rage in her tone soothed Thunderclan, satisfied that their leader knew better than to agree to harebrained concepts like shared hunting territory. The angry leader met Brokenstar’s eyes with more calm than Firepaw thought he’d be able to.

“I will discuss this with my clan before I make any such decisions,” she said with a dismissive flick of her ear.

Brokenstar narrowed his eyes and Firepaw knew as well as every cat, Bluestar had told Brokenstar “no” and her warriors puffed up in pride for their leader. With an angry growl, the tom raised his head to deliver his last message.

“There is a rogue on the loose,” he growled. “We chased her from our territory and now she roams freely. I’d keep a close eye on your kits.”

Firepaw stiffened at the blatant reference to Yellowfang. From the narrowing of eyes and bared teeth of his clanmates, their thoughts had gone to her as well. As Brokenstar dropped from the tree and began to leave, he heard Tigerclaw’s enraged snarl of “We need to deal with her!”

“We left our kits alone with her..”

“She could be helping a patrol to camp _as we speak._ ”

Before he could tell himself otherwise, Firepaw broke from the other cats and slipped into the bushes. His paws carried him rapidly through the forest. He had to get there first; he had to warn Yellowfang.

\---

Firepaw darted to Yellowfang’s den, keeping out of sight. He was relieved to truly have made it back first.

” Yellowfang,” he hissed. “Yellowfang wake _up._ Hurry! You’ve got to get out of here!”

“I wasn’t asleep,” the gray molly said with a grumble. She started to lay back down before seeing the sincere worry on his face and nudged his cheek gently. She pulled away with a scowl and narrowed eyes, “He’s keeping his promise.”

“Yellowfang you have to leave,” Firepaw said, his ears flat. “I don’t want you to get hurt! The clan is on its way back already!”

“Firepaw, I’m too old to be running forever,” Yellowfang said wearily. “Do _you_ believe I’m innocent Firepaw?”

“Of course I believe you’re innocent,” he responded. “You wouldn’t ever hurt the kits. For Ūshūrū's sake, you _avoid_ the kits!”

The old molly nodded and laid herself down again sinking into her nest.

“If you believe me Firepaw then maybe others will. Bluestar is fair and I trust her to hear me out. Now go, don’t get in trouble being seen with me.”

He tried a little longer but Yellowfang had made up her mind. With one last look of regret, Firepaw ran and hid beneath a bush out of sight. He made it just in time for Bluestar to come into camp followed swiftly by Tigerclaw and Darkstripe who ran straight to Yellowfang’s den. Frostfur herself rushed in and went straight for the nursery.

“What happened?” Runningwind said in confusion.

“Brokenstar is demanding shared hunting rights from all the clans,” Longtail informed in a grim tone much to the uproar of several cats who overheard.

“There’s also some rogue out there who’s a danger to our kits,” Willowpelt said. “But Brokenstar didn’t finish the Gathering speech so I’d take his warning with the smallest mouse dropping.”

Several cats gasped with a few growling in disgust while Tigerclaw and Darkstripe dragged a yowling Yellowfang from her nest to be dumped in front of the clan. Firepaw suppressed his urge to snarl at them and instead slunk back to Ravenpaw and Graypaw. Both cats looked relieved when they spotted him.

“Did you come back to warn Yellowfang?” Graypaw said.

“Don’t worry, we’re the only ones who missed you,” Ravenpaw added.

“Yeah but she was too stubborn to leave,” Firepaw grumbled in frustration.

“Sounds about right,” Graypaw said chuckling.

“Don’t worry Firepaw, Bluestar is fair,” Ravenpaw said resting his tail on his shoulder.

Firepaw sighed, he knew that. He was more worried about the fanatically loyal cats- like Darkstripe who even now gave him a hard time about his non-clan origins. As he thought about this, Bluestar chased Tigerclaw and Darkstripe away from Yellowfang before clambering atop highrock.

“The kits are safe,” Frostfur said leaving the nursery.

“Of course they are,” Bluestar dismissed. “Yellowfang has been here for moons now. If she wanted to harm the kits, she could’ve done so long before now.”

“We are going to throw her out though right?” the white she-cat demanded.

“We should just kill her,” Darkstripe said extending his claws.

“Brokenstar said _a_ rouge was in the forest. Not Yellowfang herself and she will be safe here,” Bluestar said strongly.

“I can leave if you wish Bluestar,” the gray molly informed gathering her paws beneath her.”I don’t mean to cause a rift between you and your clan.”

“Nonsense, there is no need for you to leave. The real threat here is Brokenstar and his demands of shared hunting rights throughout all of clan territories,” the leader said and everyone who had missed that part snarled with outrage.

“Riverclan has already given in and with Windclan gone, Thunderclan stands alone against this threat.”

“You haven’t made any secret dealing with that cat have you?” Tigerclaw said his bristled pelt slowly flattening.

“The clans have always survived on their own territories and we all go through tough times. There is no reason for that to change now and we will _not_ hand over rights to our territories,” the leader growled and received a cry of agreement from the cats below.

“How will we defend against them,” Smallear said with narrowed eyes.

Bluestar scoffed, “As we always do. If Shadowclan wants our territory they will have to fight for every last blade of grass.”

She earned an overwhelming roar of approval from Thunderclan before continuing.

“I’ll be making a trip to Moonstone- Lionheart, I’ll speak to you in my den.” 

With that, the gray-blue leader jumped down from the ledge and veered straight for the fallen log with Lionheart hot on her heels.

“What’s Moonstone?” Firepaw said tilting his head.

“The place leaders go to receive their nine lives,” Graypaw informed. “They spend the night there and come back with the ending ‘star’ to show their new, closer relationship to Starclan.”

Ravenpaw led the way to the apprentice’s den, yawning as they slunk into their nests. It had been a long day. Sandpaw and Dustpaw joined them a moment later. Dustpaw picked his way over to his brother and began grooming him. Sandpaw asked about the Gathering and most importantly, about Brokenstar. Steadily they branched out into the games that took place and Ravenpaw’s storytelling abilities. Dustpaw paused at this and tilted his head.

“You saw Tigerclaw walk off with Redtail?” asked Dustpaw. “Mousefur said Redtail walked off alone.”

Ravenpaw stiffened for a moment and replied, “She must have missed him slipping off.”

A semi-awkward silence filled the air and Ravenpaw dropped his head into his nest and began to fall asleep. A look of confusion was exchanged between the remaining apprentices. No one knew what to say and Firepaw was relieved when Lionheart stuck his head into the den.

“Ravenpaw, Firepaw, and Graypaw- you’ll be accompanying Bluestar to the Moonstone. Rest and make sure to get your herbs for the upcoming journey when you wake.”

Firepaw and Graypaw nodded. Ravenpaw waved his tail to acknowledge the statement not bothering to raise his head. Lionheart chuckled and addressed the disappointed looks on Sandpaw and Dustpaw's faces.

"Bluestar gives her word that you two will be the next cats to Moonstone- and the next to a Gathering."

Dustpaw and Sandpaw lit up at this and Lionheart bid them goodbye.

The apprentices settled down, their pelts bristled with excitement. Worry nipped at his pelt for a moment but Ravenpaw clearly didn't want to talk about what was bothering him.

That hurt him, but Ravenpaw would tell them in his own time. As he settled to sleep, Firepaw thought he tasted ashes on his tongue.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Serious exposition but it's necessary- but I have managed to include Gray Wing. It's been a while since I read Dawn of the Clans and I didn't even finish the series but I figured that works to my advantage via the fact that the initial clans were far removed from the Prophecies Begin.  
> |  
> Also, I am retconning Coral into coming into the series later because trying to put her in now will require me to rush her line and possibly ruin her personality. So cameos from her until I have a good place for her.


	10. Ashura's Heart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes cultures are talking about the same thing and Tigerclaw gets suspicious.

**Chapter 9: Ashura’s Heart**

Firepaw glanced around. It was dark, eerily so. He started forward in confusion only to be blinded by a brilliant light. He squeezed his eyes shut as it assaulted his eyes before he was knocked over. His eyes shot open and he saw dark cats swarming everywhere chasing Thunderclan cats. He scrambled to his paws swiping at one only for his paw to go through it. He reeled away from the dark warriors as a howl of grief pierced the air. A cold feeling sank in his stomach as recognized Graypaw’s voice. He rushed forward with the intent of helping and-

His eyes snapped open feeling something prodding his back.

Firepaw sprung to his paws ears flattening and bur on end. He hissed reflexively the echo of his friend’s remorseful screech ringing through his head. He backed away from the fuzzy silhouette snarled when it reached out again. When his head cleared he noticed Tigerclaw with a paw outstretched to poke him again. Graypaw and Ravenpaw stood next to him, their eyes wide with concern. Even Dustpaw and Sandpaw were sitting up in their nests staring.

“Is something wrong?” the tabby warrior questioned.

Realizing he was panting, Firepaw forced himself to take deep breaths and shuddered. His fur began to flatten and he unwound from his defensive stance. He allowed his claws to sheathe and straightened up.

“I’m fine,” he mumbled. “It was just a dream.”

He pushed himself out of the den before anyone could ask him anything. Graypaw and Ravenpaw scrambled after him exchanging worried looks. Firepaw lead them to Spottedleaf’s den, his heavy breathing evening out. The molly in question was waiting for them at the entrance of her den with three piles of leaves at her paws.

“These are your traveling herbs,” Spottedleaf told them when they stood before her.

“Yuck,” said Graypaw wrinkling his nose.

Spottedleaf chuckled. “I know, not appetizing but they’ll keep you full longer. Bluestar may not eat  _ at all  _ if she’s to speak with Starclan.”

“What?” Ravenpaw asked with surprise. “Isn’t the Moonstone far away?”

“It’s tradition,” Spottedleaf said waving her tail. “You’re quiet this morning Firepaw.”

“Bad dream,” he said smiling tiredly. “I can’t wait to see the Moonstone.’”

“You don’t have to wait much longer,” said the medicine cat. “Bluestar and Tigerclaw are walking over now.”

Firepaw glanced up and sure enough, the russet tom was approaching with his mentor. Firepaw smiled feeling a bit of weight lift from his shoulders. He darted closer to Bluestar only to skid a stop and start coughing. He gagged from the overwhelming scent on Bluestar’s pelt. He didn’t know what herb it was, just that it was strong enough that he’d have sooner thought her a walking bush than a cat on scent alone.

He shook his head falling in line behind her and Tigerclaw as they padded to the camp entrance, where Lionheart stopped his leader to touch noses with her.

“Be safe,” the golden tom encouraged them all.

They made the trek through Thunderclan territory in silence. The only sound was the cracking of twigs from their steps and the occasional prey creature caught off guard. All too soon they reached the Windclan border which, to Firepaw’s surprise they crossed without hesitation striding across the border with no care for a patrol.

The flash of discomfort when he left the treeline startled him. He hadn’t realized how much he’d adapted to having the trees above his head, their branches a safety defense, and their leaves a shelter from the elements. He glanced over to his clanmates noting that even Tigerclaw had tensed up with the lack of trees. Graypaw and Ravenpaw went as far as to drop back and trot alongside him close enough that their pelts brushed.

As they stepped away from clan territory without a word, it occurred to Firepaw that maybe the silence was meant as introspection- a time for all cats to be asking themselves questions and deciding what to ask Starclan. 

Firepaw grimaced.

He still didn’t quite believe in a clan of starry ghost cats but he could be open-minded. He wouldn’t let go of Ashura and Urushu of course but if met these Starclan cats he couldn’t rightfully deny their existence now, could he?

And so Firepaw began to think. As the ground began to slope upwards and grass faded into ‘rocks and gravel. The hills began getting steeper and craggy rocks emerged from the ground. His thoughts revolved around the distrust and growing suspicions about Tigerclaw. The prejudices against kittypets and how hard he has to prove himself to everyone. About how he can’t step one paw out of line or some cats would use it as reasoning to kick him out. He thought about how he has to be essentially perfect and allowed his frustrations to rise and themselves known for the first time since he’d joined.

He was so focused on his introspection that he nearly bumped into Tigerclaw after the patrol stopped walking. He raised his head and surveyed the harsh rocks and the enormous gaping hole in the side of the hill with rocks that hung from the opening as snaggly teeth. Damp, earthy air flowed from the rocks and filled his mouth. Something inside of him tingled and he felt an urge to head down directly into the tunnels.

“We’ll rest here,” Bluestar announced. “We’ll be going in at Moonhigh.”

\---

“There’s someone here.”

Firepaw glanced up from where he’d settled down. He strained his ears in the direction Tigerclaw was staring, eyes sharp and pelt bristled. He narrowed his eyes catching the sound of confident pawsteps trampling twigs and hard dirt. He stood up tensing his muscles as a pair of figures came into view. The rest of the patrol stiffened and grew defensive.

The scent of warmth and familiarity invaded his senses.

“Wait!” Firepaw called seeing Tigerclaw tensing for an attack.

“What?” Tigerclaw said narrowing his eyes with suspicion at Firepaw.

“Coral?!” he said raising his voice.

“Coral? Your sister?” Graypaw said his eyes going wide. He quickly licked down the stray clumps of fur standing up on his pelt.

The smaller silhouette perked up hearing him. It darted over and Firepaw beamed seeing his little sister. She tackled him nuzzling his chest lovingly.

“Rusty you big lump I missed you,” she purred. “Smudge told me he saw you but I wanted to catch you for myself.”

He batted her off of him, “I missed you too- you look stronger.”

And she did. Her muscles more defined even under her coat with her Guardian tag hanging from her collar made her look so professional. Like she was steadily reaching the dream she’d always talked about.

“What are you doing out here?” she asked him. “This isn’t clan land to my knowledge.”

“It’s not,” said Firepaw nodding. “We’re visiting their Moonstone. What about you?”

He ignored the horrified glares from his fellow clan cats at his casual reveal of the Moonstone.

“What’s the Moonstone?” said Coral tilting her head.

“A huge rock that allows them to speak to Starclan in a cave named Mothermouth,” Firepaw said gesturing to the cave in question.

Ivory, Coral’s commander joined her green-paw catching the tail end of his answer.

“What a coincidence,” she said. “We’re going in there too.”

“Really? Why?” Ravenpaw said with confusion.

“Firepaw, you just described Ashura’s Heart,” Coral said with a smirk. 

The tom blinked and ran over the description of the Moonstone in his mind. The swore when he realized she was right.

“If you’re visiting the Heart, then you’re being promoted to Knight right?”

“Only if the Guardians of the past think I should be. I hope I’m ready.”

“I’m sure you are,” Firepaw reassured.

“Would you like to wait with us?” said Bluestar.

“Yes ma’am,” said Coral.

\--- 

“If this has turned into a group trip,” Bluestar broke in. “It is time.”

Coral glanced up at the moon which had by this point risen high into the sky and nodded going to stand beside Bluestar. Ivory touched noses with her Green-paw and sat by the left side of the cavern opening.

Firepaw glanced up from where he was grooming his coat. He clambered to his sore and aching paws feeling like his pads had been rubbed raw from the journey. They throbbed from previously ignored bruises but he strode over to his leader careful to clean any last drops of blood from himself. Their resting place at been near the base of the tall rocks in a field of grass where mice had run freely. Hunting had never been easier and it was like they’d run intentionally into their waiting mouths.

Firepaw jogged alongside the leader back up to stretching hole that was Mouthermouth trying to imitate her calm and in control movements. He caught a glint of amusement in her eyes and felt embarrassed that she clearly knew he was copying her. They stopped before entrance and Bluestar turned to Graypaw and Ravenpaw.

“You two guard the entrance, Firepaw, and Tigerclaw, come with me,” she announced.

Firepaw caught the brief looks of relief on his friends’ faces before they took guard on the entrance to the cavern. Tigerclaw seemed unbothered only by giving a simple nod to convey that he heard her, but Firepaw was able to taste the strong scent of fear rolling off of him. The ginger tom took the slightest bit of pride at being the only cat other than his sister not afraid of the Mothermouth. Even Bluestar emitted nervous energy while Firepaw only felt a tug encouraging him to go in.

He started forward when Bluestar led them in.

The light steadily faded from his vision and within moments he was navigating purely by following the echoing steps of his leader, the faint touch of his sister’s tail on his nose, with Tigerclaw taking the rear. The ground sloped downwards and Firepaw began wondering how deep the Moonstone was into the Highrocks. The further they walked the stronger the fear scent behind him became as Tigerclaw’s paw steps grew staggered and his movements stiff. Firepaw felt an unbidden flash of admiration for the tom who was clearly resisting his urge to bolt. The tunnel began twisting and turning and Firepaw soon found his sense of direction muddled.

‘Following your leader into a dark endless tunnel,’ Firepaw mused. ‘Must be a sign of complete trust.’

Soon enough the path began to level out it opened into a large cavern. Firepaw stared in awe at what was evidently the Moonstone. The enormous rock twinkled in the light of the dying sun as Ashura’s pelt made itself known in the brilliant sky. It glittered and he felt a tug within his chest whispering to him, urging him forward. He stepped forward and his paw slipped into a dip in the ground that looked like a long faded paw print. 

Bluestar and Coral laid down near the Moonstone and Firepaw took it as his cue to sit as well. Tigerclaw dropped down tensely all of his body was stiff. Firepaw watched the moon clamber into the sky lazily. The tom stretches the slightest bit and snuggled down a little further yawning feeling his exhaustion hit him. He had just started to drift off when a beam of moonlight finally touch the Moonstone.

The moonstone lit up glowing brilliant and engulfing the entire cavern. There was a scrambling of paws and Firepaw knew Tigerclaw had lost the battle against his nerves and retreated.

“Firepaw?” he heard his leader ask. “Are you still there?”

“I am,” he spoke up.

“Tigerclaw is intimidated by the Moonstone’s power. I do not blame him, it is a sight to behold the first time. What are you feeling?”

Firepaw thought about it and was surprised that he didn’t really anything just, “My curiosity. I’m calm and I want to know more. I want to go closer to Moonstone.”

Bluestar laughed.

“You are quite unusual Firepaw.”

“And you Coral?”

“It’s beautiful and I’m glad I get to see this.”

The tom felt himself purr and turned back to the blinding light of the Moonstone. His dream came back to him unbidden, and with a jolt, he realized he’d seen the Moonstone. The light was exactly the same. He jolted when he saw Bluestar move forward he figure obscuring some of the light. She pressed her nose to the rock and fell asleep. Coral smirked and winked at her brother before also pressing her nose to the glowing stone.

The young tom settled down waiting in silence for his leader and sister for his sister to reawaken. They were eerily still and Firepaw felt a twinge of concern that they’d actually passed on. The Moonstone continued to glow for the rest of the night until the last beam of light removed itself from the cavern. Then it dimmed casting the cave in pitch blackness. Firepaw loyally continued to wait for then to awaken.

Coral awoke and gathered her paws beneath her. She sat beside Firepaw and smiled but didn’t interrupt the silence in the cavern. She joined Firepaw in his vigil for his leader.

“Firepaw?”

“I’m still here,” he said when Bluestar awoke.

He heard her paws on the rocks then felt her pelt brush past his own.

“We must return to camp immediately,” she stated.

She trotted with swift sure steps from the cavern and through the winding path turning seemingly at random. They broke free of the cavern far quicker than he remembered and Bluestar bounded down the rocky pathway with a new sense of urgency. Graypaw and Ravenpaw followed her not questioning her rapid pacing as Tigerclaw asked if and what she’d dreamed.

“We must return to camp,” she repeated once more.

Coral licked his cheek responding to the sense of urgency that filled their bodies.

“Good luck,” she said and bounded over to Ivory.

Firepaw waved his tail goodbye to her and sprinted after his patrol. Firepaw’s dream about the shadowy warriors that came from nowhere returned full force to his mind. The fur on his spine bristled and he began to prepare himself to a battle all the way the echo of Graypaw’s grieving yowl clattered through his mind and he desperately hoped it wouldn’t come to pass.

\---

Bluestar set a truly grueling pace for them. The apprentices were now struggling desperately to keep up. Firepaw felt his paws aching once more but pressed on as best as he could with Graypaw stumbling along.

“Ravenpaw!” TIgerclaw snapped at his apprentice. “Hurry it up!”

“I’m  _ tired _ ” Ravenpaw protested meekly. All the same, he forced himself to go a little faster-looking haggard and exhausted as he did. Tigerclaw shot a disgusted look at the apprentice.

“S-so,” Firepaw started almost panting. “What did Tigerclaw say when he came out?”

“He just- just said he was making sure we- we were still keeping guard,” Graypaw gasped in exhaustion.

Ravenpaw stumbled while adding, “He seemed a little on edge when he came out.”

“What was Moonstone like?” Graypaw prompted.

Between the burn in his lungs and the pounding of his paws against the ground, Firepaw couldn’t think too clearly. The blinding light of the Moonstone came back to him, and he smiled the slightest bit and decided.

“Amazing,” he said.

Bluestar, a full tail length ahead of them seemed to realize even Tigerclaw was struggling to keep up with her pace now and came to a halt. They took the impromptu break gratefully drinking in as much air as they could before the leader felt the need to begin sprinting once more. Instead, the molly settled on a brisk walking pace that was far easier to keep up with. They passed a twoleg nest and started to make their way down when a black and white coat stopped them.

Firepaw perked up with Smudge’s name on the tip of his tongue before he remembered how far away they were and realized this cat had no collar.

“Barley,” Bluestar said dipping her head.

“Hello Bluestar,” the tom responded. “Is everything alright?”

Tigerclaw flexed his claws giving an impatient and threatening growl.

“I just don’t like being so far from my clan for so long,” the leader said diplomatically.

“What do you want?” the broad-shouldered tabby demanded irritably.

“To warn you,” Barley said soothingly before turning to Bluestar. “There are dogs out in the direction you’re going. You’ll run right into them. If you take the other way around the cornfield, then you should be okay.”

“How do we know you’re not trying to fool us?” said Tigerclaw bristling.

Bluestar merely turned and began heading back to the cornfield behind them.

“Thank you for the warning Barely,” the molly meowed.

Firepaw bounded up to his mentor and matched her pawsteps. Tigerclaw followed grumbling the entire way about listening to foolish loners. Firepaw shook his paws with discomfort as the pads began itching from stepping on the corn shillings. As they passed a low ditch he opened his mouth to ask Bluestar a question. 

He whirled around upon hearing Ravenpaw give a yowl of terror.

The black tom sank his teeth into a rat that had latched onto his hind leg to drag him down into the ditch. He snarled and slashed at its eyes earning a squeal as his claws tore through its soft skin.

“It’s a trap!” Tigerclaw said with bared teeth as he killed a rat that went for him.

Firepaw’s legs buckled as a weight pressed upon him and sharp teeth sank into his back. He spotted Tigerclaw with little sparks in his mouth before he sank his teeth into a rat. It squealed fried and Firepaw saw nothing more of that fight as he twisted around and snapped one of the rats on his claws. He turned to see another leap him.

Barely came out of nowhere intercepting the rat and dragged another from his back. Freed Firepaw sees a struggling Bluestar with lightning whirling about her body and sharp claws dredging deep scores into the ground. The rats were still overwhelming her and Barely rushed to her aid.

Firepaw for his part launched himself on the rats attacking Graypaw. They fought their way to a spot above Ravenpaw and teamed up to defend themselves. The rats at first seemed never-ending finally they fled realizing the cats were no longer surprised. The two friends helped their friend from the ditch and turned to see Tigerclaw tackle Barely. Firepaw went to say something only to spot his mentor lying still in the dirt.

He darted over ignoring the argument behind him.

“You led us right into a trap!”

“I didn’t know the rats were here! I just know Dauntless’s Pack is nearby!”

“Then how did you know-”

“Bluestar isn’t breathing,” Firepaw interrupted with a grimace.

The cats behind him froze before Tigerclaw strong-armed the apprentice out of the way nudging her. He headbutted her a couple of times lightly before sitting next to her with a frown. He turned his attention to the apprentices.

“It’s in the paws of Starclan for now,” he muttered.

Firepaw’s heart leaped into his throat. Graypaw and Ravenpaw pressed against him to soothe him from the panic and fear they smelt radiating from him. Firepaw watched her, staring at her blank eyes and empty blue eyes shivering. The star on her forehead and her blank eyes glowed and he got to his paws seeing the points pull themselves towards the center for a moment. Then the petals moved back to their original location. The light returned to Bluestar’s eyes and she took in a soft gasp of air.

Firepaw sprinted over once more the second she raised her head and pressed his nose into her fur. He felt Bluestar pause then twist a little to lick his ear consolingly.

“I’m fine Firepaw,” she whispered to him. The ginger tom only pressed more firmly against his mentor ignoring Graypaw’s look of sympathy. The leader sighed and let him stay where he was simply speaking up once more. “I’ve lost a life.”

“Get cobwebs,” Tigerclaw said to Ravenpaw before turning to Graypaw. “Go find burdock root or horsetail.”

Graypaw hesitated clearly only knowing what  _ one  _ of those looked like before taking off with Ravenpaw.

Tigerclaw glanced over to Barely who stood awkwardly by Firepaw.

“Get out,” he told the black and white tom threateningly. “Don’t come near our leader.”

Barely didn’t fight merely rising to his paws to leave. As he left, he nodded respectfully to Firepaw dipping his head.

“Pleased to see you in person Your Grace,” he said.

Firepaw blinked a little taken aback. It’s been a few moons since he’d been called that. He glanced around the large expanse of sparse land. His parent’s territory expands farther than he thought.

“I’ve got cobwebs,” Ravenpaw called hopping over on three paws.

Firepaw took some from the offered paw and took it upon himself to heal his mentor. He gently swathed all the bites that spotted with cobwebs pointedly placing some on her neck though that injury had already healed. Bluestar seemed both touched and exasperated by determined care.

“If Tigerclaw hadn’t pulled that rat from my back, I’d have been killed twice over,” she said.

Firepaw shook his head correcting her in a quiet voice, “Barely saved you.”

Bluestar gave him a curious look. “Oh? In that case, I should thank him. Is he still here?”

“Tigerclaw sent him away. He thinks Barely knew about the rats and set a trap.”

“Do  _ you  _ think it was a trap Firepaw?”

He didn’t answer at first merely accepting the bundle of horsetail from Graypaw to chew up. He scrunched up his nose at the taste but soldiered through and began to apply the chewed up remains to his leader’s wounds. Then he spoke.

“I think,” he began. “Barely has nothing to get from trapping us and then saving us from that same trap.”

The leader hummed in response to the statement.

“We should rest,” Tigerclaw said when Firepaw backed away from tending Bluestar’s wounds. “So that Bluestar may recover. Losing a life can’t be easy.”

“No,” the leader denied already clambering to her paws. “We must get back to camp.”

“How many lives is this Bluestar?” Tigerclaw asked.

The leader took a moment to adjust her stride to Firepaw who had decided he would walk beneath her stomach for a moment despute being too big for that. After she was certain she wouldn’t trip over her apprentice, she answered Tigerclaw’s question.

“That was my fifth.”

\---

They reached Windclan territory rushing. Bluestar’s instance that they  _ needed  _ to get back to camp having bled over into the apprentices who were now nervous and jumpy from the rat attack. Crossing through, Tigerclaw raised his head sniffing the air for a Shadowclan patrol.

“They’re not here today,” Bluestar told him stiffly and her pace picked up even further.

The acrid scent of Shadowclan reached his nose and Firepaw found himself rushing after Bluestar with the same urgency. The smell got stronger and Firepaw’s stomach dropped. His dream came back full force until he was running determined and keeping up with Bluestar almost perfectly

Ravenpaw and Graypaw seemed to pick up on what the scent implied and Tigerclaw all but leaped over the border into Thunderclan territory. Trees and plants blurred by them as they sprinted and the branches crack beneath their paws. Soon the camp was in sight and Shadowclan’s stench was almost overpowering. Firepaw didn’t stop smoothly slipping through the torn gorse tunnel and threw himself onto the back of the first Shadowclan cat he could reach.

The tom screeched turning over but Firepaw rolled away. He latched on again sinking his teeth into soft skin beneath it. Then he yowled in pain as his mouth started burning. The tom whirled around and launched him backward. He glanced up his mouth ablaze. The Shadowclan tom had murky dark energy radiating from his coat.

‘Please Bluestar,’ he thought to himself privately upon seeing no surprised looks from other cats. ‘ _ Please  _ teach me how to defend myself from that!’

The tabby warrior lunged and Firepaw danced around him. He dodged backward then slipped under the energy covered paws. The Shadowclan cat went barrelling into the gorse bushes and struggled to free himself. Firepaw took advantage and sank his claws into the soft underbelly of the tom. The Shadowclan cat howled in pain forcing himself through the bushes and retreated.

Firepaw felt a brief flash of victory and turned to the rest of the chaos. His blood ran cold seeing Blackfoot at the nursery grabbing kits.

“The ki-” he started springing towards the deputy before he was tackled by a tortoiseshell warrior. He snarled with rage and surprise glancing back at the nursery where Blackfoot is grabbing more kits. He forced himself to relax his muscles in the warrior’s mouth. The second she relaxed he surged up and slammed his paws down on her chest. He heard her gasp in pain and a slight cracking noise. He didn’t care only turning towards the nursery to help the kits. He skidded to a halt looking absolutely relieved.

Yellowfang stood over the kit defensively with a growl. Firepaw caught Blackfoot retreating with a bloody set of claw marks down his cheek. She nodded at Firepaw who nodded back and helped chase the remaining warriors who panicked when their deputy had run.

Thunderclan released a cry of triumph sounding pleased and finished the chase that shooed the enemy away.

The battle over, Firepaw limped towards the nursery. Frostfur slipped out covered in scratches and her left ear was newly torn.

“The kits are safe,” she announced to the relief of the clan. “Thanks to Yellowfang. Rosetail has been killed though.”

Firepaw notices a wince from the elder Dappletail earning a gentle lick from One-eye. He spoke up hoping the clan would feel a little better about who she fought.

“It was Blackfoot,” he informed catching the cat’s eye. “He killed her and dragged her from the nursery. She got his ear good before he got her.”

Dappletail did appear a little bit happier about this before Spottedleaf came rushing by with medical herbs. Firepaw followed her path then froze. Graypaw gave a horrified screech with grief and terror racing after the medicine cat to where his mentor was laying still on the ground.

“Lionheart,” Firepaw whispered racing to his friend.

Graypaw had his face buried in the fur of the golden warrior shaking like a leaf in a storm. Firepaw pressed against his friend comfortingly and he was joined by Ravenpaw on his other side. The tom whimpered when Spottedleaf turned to Bluestar and shook her head sadly.

“What will I do without you?” Bluestar whispered brokenly.

Firepaw tensed watching his leader limp away to her den feeling intense conflict within him. He wanted to stay with Graypaw but this scare was making him even more anxious. He finally decided that he’d stay with Graypaw a while longer but that Bluestar wouldn’t leave his sight in the next coming days.

\---

Firepaw and Ravenpaw sat supportively with a broken and blank-faced Graypaw. The gray tom was a wreck and had barely moved. Dustpaw had been the one to convince him to move having lost Redtail and therefore knowing what to say. Both Ravenpaw and Firepaw had teamed up to make him eat a bit and he hadn’t even moved when Spottedleaf had healed their wounds.

Lionheart’s body lay in the clearing curled up as if he was napping. Covered in vines and white carnations, Lionheart was the same scene as Redtail from his first night as an apprentice. This time however grief was clawing its way through him. The red paint now bore proper symbolism he could appreciate; the thunderbolt painted on his forehead is that he was from Thunderclan and every wound decorated with the paint was dedicated to making the death a beautiful thing.

The moon was high in the sky when Bluestar walked out to announce the new deputy. Everyone was looking expectantly at Tigerclaw then back to the leader on Highrock. She looked heavy and tired and Firepaw felt a twinge of sadness.

‘She just got over losing Redtail,’ he mused to himself sadly. ‘And now she has to handle losing a friend all over again while replacing him.’

“...Lionheart was an amazing deputy,” Bluestar started. “He was a courageous cat who saw potential in everyone. Wise and kind, he died before his time. He would’ve made a fine leader in my stead. The stars have sadly decided it was his time however and it is time for me to appoint a new deputy. I hope he approves of my choice and I ask Tigerclaw to be my new deputy.”

“I would be honored,” the broad-shouldered tabby announced. “I’ll do my best to serve this clan.”

“She should have picked Whitestorm.”

Firepaw glanced at Ravenpaw and was surprised to see the tom wide-eyed as if all his nightmares had come true at the same time.

“She just gave him what he wanted, ever since he took care of Redtail…” the apprentice squeezed his eyes shut with despair.

Meanwhile, Firepaw’s mind slammed to a halt.

_ What? _


	11. Ravenpaw's Secret

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> That battle at sunningrocks- also visions.

“Focus Firepaw!”

The ginger tom snarled with determination. Bluestar flew at him and he ducked beneath her belly jumping forward to avoid her teeth when she snapped at his tail. He crouched down as she took another flying leap. Firepaw ducked again and this time lashed out kicking her in the chest sending her flying into the ground. Bluestar chuckled rolling to her paws grinning.

“Excellent,” she praised and he puffed out his chest. “Now try a spark.”

Firepaw took a deep breath and focused inward and searched for his Spark. He traversed the inside of himself and felt something humming, twisting, and leaping through his muscles. He opened his eyes to a proud Bluestar as electricity jumped over his coat. He took deep breaths and finally made it explode from him in a shower of light.

A lot had happened since Lionheart had left for Ashura’s realm. Graypaw had been reassigned to a new mentor, a tom named Volewhisker. Firepaw was told that it wasn’t against the rules for a sire to mentor his kit, but it wasn’t common. All the same, Volewhisker had taken pity on Graypaw and granted him five sunrises to mourn. Tigerclaw on the flip side had ordered guards to Bluestar’s den citing her loss of a life as a reason. He’d wanted them following her around but Bluestar shut that down when it came up.

Firepaw was surprised Bluestar hadn’t cuffed her deputy over the ear for that remark. Now more than ever, Thunderclan needed to look powerful and strong- not weak and vulnerable. Clan morale needed to be so high it was unshakable and the russet tom wasn’t helping. His lessons as a prince came back full force and he had to bite his tongue to keep himself from giving unsolicited advice. Even now, his status as an ex-outsider would prevent anycat from taking him seriously. Even if it was clear to anyone with basic leadership training that a leader should be able to defend themselves without constant guard. Especially a leader like Bluestar.

Bluestar for her part had taken the rat attack and the death of Lionheart as a sign of approaching dark times and started drilling Firepaw into the ground during training. Most days he now trained from sunhigh to sundown only interrupted with the occasional hunting patrol and assessment. Gone were his peaceful lazy mornings because Bluestar dragged him on every other dawn patrol leaving him to stumble in and pass out in his nest.

Sandpaw, may Ushuru bless her with the happiest aspects of life, had taken to helping Ravenpaw change his bedding while he was gone. Firepaw left his largest catches in their nests as a thanks.

As tired as he was, Firepaw thought it was worth it. His skills had improved leaps and bounds and during his last combat assessment, Dustpaw didn’t know what hit him. The brown apprentice hadn’t expected Firepaw to cover himself in Static and then shock him. Plus, he couldn’t complain about being run ragged while the rest of the camp suffered too.

The Thunderclan borders were being guarded like the nest of a sick Queen. Each patrol that went out knew to mark each blade of grass and fallen leaf twice- Shadowclan would receive ample reminders of where the border was and if they ignored it…

Firepaw flexed his claws dodging another attack from Bluestar and tried to summon a Static while jumping.

The Nursery had been further reinforced with a pair of Queens guarding the entrance and kits had been trained to hide deep in the bramble walls if any cat that didn’t smell like Thunderclan came in. The fresh-kill pile was always full and they’d even filled two hidden emergency stashes. Back-up herbs were constantly being brought in and refreshed by Spottedleaf and Yellowfang.

No cat had been surprised when Bluestar offered Yellowfang a place as a medicine cat. “No point in wasting her experience,” she’d said. Yellowfang had been shocked by the support from the Queen though but well, she saved their kits. Of course, they’d support her.

“That’s enough Firepaw.”

The ginger apprentice relaxed and glanced up at the sky, surprised to see it was still sunhigh and therefore, way too early for her to end a training session. He shot her a confused look and Bluestar laughed at his bewilderment.

“We’re ending early?” Firepaw asked.

“I have a meeting with Buzzardback about possible attacks from Shadowclan and then I need to check in with Ravenpaw and Larkwing.”

“Are they still looking into Windclan’s disappearance?” prompted the apprentice.

“They’re checking for any directions they could’ve gone,” Bluestar agreed. “So far Shadowclan’s stench is masking anything that could be found.”

“Where do you think they’ve gone?” Firepaw asked. “If Riverclan hasn’t complained and we haven’t smelled them, they must’ve left clan territory.”

“That’s dangerous but very possible,” Bluestar said, flattening her ears. “The dogs live everywhere outside of our territories.”

“The Canine Republics,” Firepaw grimaced. “And if they wander onto Kingdom land, it won’t end well if they’re hostile.”

Bluestar sighed, “It’s not safe for clan cats to be so far from clan territory. Past leaders have made quite a reputation for us and it’s not a friendly one. Run along Firepaw, we have things to do.”

He purred darting over and lightly nuzzled her shoulder. His mentor purred and licked the top of his head and nudged his cheek. She nudged him on and he purred letting her guide him away. Bluestar had quickly become a mother figure to him since he’d joined Thunderclan. Spottedleaf’s near-constant visits to ensure her health had scared him stiff. Bluestar had repeatedly allowed him to spend the night in her den when the apprentice had run in looking terrified and burying himself in Bluestar’s nest.

Firepaw nuzzled her one last time and then darted off into the woods intent on finding a snack. He sniffed through the grass searching for a mouse. He was so focused he rammed right into a gray ball of fluff with an “oof!”

“Starclan Firepaw,” Graypaw said, shaking his head. “We’re in the same clan.”

“Sorry,” Firepaw said flattening his ears sheepishly. “I’m just hungry.”

Graypaw motioned towards a squirrel he dropped when they crashed. “Eat this then, I caught it and a rabbit on my way back to camp.”

Firepaw purred his thanks and devoured the squirrel before eyeing the rabbit.

“Oh no you don’t,” yelped Graypaw laughing. “I need  _ something  _ to show for my time gone.”

“Okay, okay,” chuckled Firepaw. “I won’t eat your stupid rabbit.”

“You better not,” teased Graypaw.

The two toms traded jokes for a bit before starting to walk back to the camp in silence. Graypaw because of the rabbit in his mouth and Firepaw because he wanted to enjoy the downtime with his friend who was rarely in such a good mood lately. Trotting in silence made it so Firepaw could easily pick up more sounds than usual and caught some quiet murmuring. 

“You hear that?” Firepaw whispered to Graypaw.

The dark-coated tom nodded and flicked his ear at the shadow of a leaf. Firepaw nodded in agreement.

_ Shadowclan. _

The apprentices crept slowly after the voices making their way slightly deeper into the brushes. They couldn’t see the cats in question but their voices were easy to hear.

“It’s worrying,” meowed one cat.

‘It’s just Darkstripe,’ Firepaw realized feeling stupid. He should’ve known Shadowclan scent would stand out much more in Thunderclan territory. Graypaw sent him the same embarrassed expression and the two apprentices turned to sneak away making the silent agreement never to speak about how they’d gone to confront a Shadowclan patrol alone.

“Any suspects Tigerclaw?  _ Someone  _ had to know that Bluestar wasn’t in camp.”

“...I didn’t want to say it in front of others in case I was mocked but well, Ravenpaw did leave his post on the way to Moonstone.”

Graypaw stopped alongside Firepaw each of them exchanging a look. The ginger tom tilted his head. Graypaw shook his head answering Firepaw’s question. The only time Ravenpaw had left, had been to fetch herbs for Bluestar. The moment had been brief too- being near the corn stalks made finding cobwebs quick and easy. What was Tigerclaw going on about?

“How long was he gone?” demanded another voice.

‘Longtail,’ Firepaw identified.

“I’m not sure,” Tigerclaw said with a quiver in his voice. “Ravenpaw has been acting strangely since I told him the truth about the Fire. He could’ve disappeared and sold us out to a nearby patrol while I was at the Moonstone.”

“When will you tell Bluestar?” demanded Longtail.

“When I have enough evidence. He’s so flighty she’d laugh me out of her den. I wouldn’t blame her- I’m having trouble understanding this too.”

“You think the kittypet knows?” Darkstripe broke in.

“Firepaw might be an unknowing spy. Ravenpaw has managed to position himself as his friend.  _ Of course,  _ a friend will want to know what you’re learning from your mentor,” Tigerclaw informed.

“And Ravenpaw can leverage Graypaw closer,” Longtail said grimly. “With him grieving, he’ll seek as much support from Ravenpaw as he can..”

“It’ll be easier than ever to bring Graypaw to the other side,” Tigerclaw said grimly.

Firepaw and Graypaw had heard enough. They backed away quietly until they could no longer hear the talk between the warriors then turned and sprinted. They found themselves deep in Thunderclan territory far away from any cat who could overhear them. Graypaw dropped his rabbit whirling to face Firepaw.

“Fire?” Graypaw demanded in confusion. “What is he talking about? And why is he trying to turn cats against Ravenpaw?”

“And us,” Firepaw reminded him. “They think we’re indoctrinated.”

“We have to keep an eye out if Tigerclaw can say that about Ravenpaw, there must be something we don’t know about.”

\---

Several sunrises later, the situation hadn’t gotten any better. The ginger tom was frantic over Ravenpaw by this point. He and Graypaw had started subtly keeping to their friend’s side. 

“It’ll look suspicious,” Firepaw confessed to Graypaw. “Like we’re really being brainwashed but it’s more dangerous to leave him by himself when Darkstripe and Longtail think he’s a traitor.

Sadly, Ravenpaw was hardly in camp. Between his hunting assignments, diplomat expeditions, herb patrols and patching assignments on the rare occasion their friend was around, he was snoring away in his nest. Firepaw found himself worrying more and more for his friend who smelled vaguely of pine needles every time he collapsed. His pelt prickled and he shadowed his friend whenever Ravenpaw was in camp making eye contact with Tigerclaw every time the deputy sent the thin tom out of camp.

Graypaw took up this duty carefully trailing their friend outside of camp. He reports back to Firepaw when they’re both curled in their nest in low worried tones that Ravenpaw is near always alongside the Shadowclan border. 

One one such trailing incident, Graypaw managed to cut his pad. It wasn't deep but it stung and walking on mud with an already open cut never ended well. So Firepaw helped him limp to Spottedleaf’s den where the calm tortie glanced up near the entrance. She let them walk in fully and he nudged Graypaw towards the medicine cats (he spotted Yellowfang sorting herbs in the back).

“Hello Firepaw,” Spottedleaf greeted warmly, “Graypaw, how can I help you today?”

“Hey Spottedleaf,” said Firepaw with a smile. “Graypaw cut his pad on a thorn- isn’t bad, but he’s been whining.”

“I wasn’t whining,” Graypaw said, shoving his friend. “I was letting you know my paw hurt.”

“So whining,” Yellowfang grunted, flicking her tail for Graypaw to follow. The apprentice pouted and trailed after the matted furred molly towards a row of unoccupied nests.

Firepaw and Spottedleaf giggled together for a second and began to talk catching up. Spottedleaf had been rather busy- even more a medicine cat as Yellowfang had started drilling her on defensive techniques she’d learned in Shadowclan.

“My muscles are always sore now,” the molly said.

Firepaw nodded adding, “And sometimes even my whiskers ache from how Bluestar trains me.”

“Right and my ears will… will…”

Firepaw looked up in confusion as Spottedleaf’s body went stiff. She seemed frozen in place before slowly turning her head and staring down at him. He had to bite his tongue to stop his audible gasp. Her eyes were blank and filled with stars. Slowly her pupils began to enlarge themselves and Firepaw found himself drawn into their depths. He caught something out of the corner of his eye and turned.

He didn’t know when he’d left the medicine cat den but he was now looking at the Thunderclan camp on fire. Brush crackled and trees were coated in a brilliant orange blaze, the grass charring the lad around them flowers writhing up to the heat. Almost no spot in the camp was untouched by the flames but surprisingly there were no yowls of fear or screams of horror. No warrior retreating, no kits coughing or their parents frantically ushering them from the Nursery.

His gaze covered the clearing before his eyes fell on a figure made of fire standing atop highrock the flames jumping off and raking its claws through the foliage nearby. The cat made of flames stalked down from high rock leaving harsh paw-prints scorched into the ground. With an angry snarl, the blazing figure charged off to the leader’s den leaping inside. A second after, the flames shot up and encompassed the entire camp in a blinding flare. Despite the flames grasping him tightly, he didn’t feel any pain. He squeezed his eyes shut and felt embers blow up and coated his face. He didn’t cough.

The heat crawled up his body and wrapped around his ears and warmth filled him and a whisper echoed through his ears, “ _ Fire alone will save our clan. _ ”

“Firepaw?”

The ginger tom jolted a gasp of sharp air hitting his lungs. Suddenly the medicine cat den was back and he was laying on his side. Spottedleaf was standing over him, a paw cautiously outstretched to shake him. Yellowfang was close by, not looking at him directly but she glanced over every moment or so, concern clear in her eyes. 

Firepaw climbed to his paws, trembling and shaking. He nearly fell but managed to regain his balance before Spottedleaf could help. 

“Are you okay?” Spottedleaf asked.

“I’m fine, it was strange though.”

“Strange?”

“It’s still echoing in my ears-  _ fire alone will save our clan _ ,” Firepaw repeated shivering.

Spottedleaf stiffened, “All I saw was you falling over… where did you hear that?”

“I don’t know,” Firepaw said and recounted the vision he’d seen.

“A message from Starclan,” she muttered, her tail lashing. “I’ve heard that before- they must’ve wanted you to be aware of the Prophecy.”

“Starclan’ he mused before nodding slowly. ‘If it was a vision, of course she wouldn’t remember. It’s like Ashura or Ushuru speaking through the Kings and Queens.’

“Don’t think too hard about it.” Spottedleaf’s voice startled him from his thoughts and he glanced up at her as she added, “The worst thing you can do is try to avoid a prophecy.”

“Of course,” Firepaw said absently. Upon catching her surprised look, he explained, “Ashura and Ushuru sometimes spoke through the regents but if you try to fight their wisdom, you will find yourself struggling through life.”

“Oh, that’s good,” Spottedleaf chuckled, twitching her whiskers. “The most agony comes from cats obsessing over their fates and trying too hard to change them.”

Firepaw cocked his head. Did some cats really spend all of their lives fretting over something that wouldn’t happen for a long time? Then he remembered the story of Blister.

“Oh Ravenpaw is back,” Spottedleaf noted. 

Firepaw glanced up to see his friend walking over to the fresh kill pile laden with prey from rabbits to to sparrows his paws dragging. His eyes seemed heavy and he stumbled a bit and dropped a couple on the way. He looked at Spottedleaf who nodded to dismiss him. Firepaw darted out and grabbed some of the dropped prey to follow them back to put with the rest of a fresh-kill pile. Worry prickled under his coat when he spotted a newly added frog. 

He glanced at Ravenpaw who shuffled nervously, the scent of pine sap and soiled water rolling from his coat. Ravenpaw glanced at him then avoided his eyes. 

“Why do you smell like…” the ginger tom began softly.

“Tigerclaw sent me,” the black tom said.

“Tigerclaw isn’t your mentor,” Firepaw said, lashing his tail. “We need to tell Bluestar- what if a Shadowclan patrol ambushes you on your way back?”

“We don’t need to tell  _ anyone _ ,” snapped Ravenpaw, swiping a paw at his ear. “Eat your prey.”

Firepaw stayed silent and grabbed a mouse. Ravenpaw had already finished off a squirrel as if he’d been made to starve for moons. He didn’t look up when Ravenpaw strode by him into the apprentice’s den. Not wanting to look any more suspicious than they already did, Firepaw forced himself to finish the mouse. He planted himself in the spot cleaning the blood from his coat as calmly as he could manage all too aware of the eyes on him around the camp. Fur settled, he gave a languid stretch and slipped into the apprentice’s den as naturally as he could.

He bit his tongue to stop a curse when he realized Ravenpaw had already fallen asleep. He’d have to see if he could talk to him later. Groaning in frustration, Firepaw settled in his nest intent on a nap. Then he was kicked in the ribs.

“Ouch,” he complained. “Ravenpaw, if you’re that mad at me then-!”

He stopped realizing his friend was still sleeping.The lanky tom was rolling about in his bedding paws flailing. Firepaw dodged a stray paw attempting to wake him up- prodding him and leaping away from the occasional claw. He hissed after one of the claws snagged his bottom lip.

“Ravenpaw,” he called. “Ravenpaw you’re dreaming wake up.”

He reached out and gently poked him one last time in the chest. Ravenpaw’s eyes snapped open and he slashed at Firepaw before racing to the back of the den curled up. His eyes were wide with terror and he shook like a leaf. Firepaw’s heart broke at the sheer amount of fear that filled the air. He made himself wait for Ravenpaw to calm down a little. Painstakingly like flowing tar, time passed and the glazed look in Ravenpaw’s eyes faded becoming replaced with recognition. The black tom slunk back over trembling like a leaf in a windstorm.

“Tigerclaw-” he began shakily. “He-”

“I know,” Firepaw said, pressing against his side, purring. “Graypaw and I heard him talking to Longtail and Darkstripe.”

“Why do you still hang out with me then?” Ravenpaw demanded whiskers quivering.

“Cause you’re our friend Frightypaws,” teased Firepaw. “You’d never sell out Thunderclan to Shadowclan.”

Ravenpaw stared at him as if he wasn’t real for a second still shaking and trembling. Then he pressed back against him purring. Relief rolled off of him like a crashing wave. Firepaw stomped on his urge to storm up to Tigerclaw and tear out his fur by the roots. He licked his friend’s ear reassuring him for a while longer until his trembling died away. When Ravenpaw seemed calm enough that a stray mouse wouldn't frighten him into Ashura’s realm, he finally asked the big question.

“Ravenpaw, why is Tigerclaw trying to get rid of you?”

“There wasn’t an extra Riverclan warrior. Tigerclaw killed Redtail. And I saw him.”

Firepaw reflexively glanced around, keeping an eye out for anyone listening in. 

“Tell me everything,” Firepaw commanded.

“Redtail killed Oakheart but it was an accident- on the way back, Tigerclaw killed him. They were fighting- something about a fire, I”m not sure but Tigerclaw got really angry and he just…” Ravenpaw took a deep breath. “He saw me in the bushes so I ran as fast as I could.”

“And you bumped into me,” Firepaw concluded. 

“Bluestar wouldn’t believe me- I have no proof and it’s his word against mine,” Ravenpaw said.

“Well I believe you and so will Graypaw,” Firepaw told him. “And we  _ will  _ help get proof for Bluestar.”

“Thank you,” Ravenpaw said nuzzling his cheek.

“Just stay close and we’ll protect you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back! Ahah! Sorry guys, I've essentially committed to an original story version of this temporarily called Strelles with a bit more background but I've ALSO committed to redesigning and rewriting the entirety of Harry Potter so yeah. I've changed elves, added more worldbuilding and am presently redoing all of the Hogwarts classes XD- so yeah. That's where I've been. The draft version of this was longer but I'm so tired right now and I have no motivation to write another 3 or 4 pages of that chapter so I chopped it at a place that seemed well enough XD. 
> 
> Well that and I'm also writing Fuzzy Love.


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